Neurotic Insecurity
by Captain Black Feather
Summary: What happens when the new kid at HA tries to sweep Jade off her feet? Beck certainly won't be happy. Follows episode continuity sans TWC. Bade.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey everyone, This is something i've been writing during spare time in class. I know the whole Jealous!Beck is overused a bit, but it's always a good story if told right. Also, Bade hasn't broken up/gotten back together in this story, so basically it follows the continuity of all the episodes sans TWC. I hope you enjoy it :) **

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider. **

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**Jade POV**

I sighed as I slammed my locker door shut. The scissors rattled against the black metal while I turned to face Cat. "My brother tried to eat marbles this morning. I don't think they would taste good," Cat said whilst twirling her hair. I bit back a sardonic comment and sipped my coffee. The hot liquid calmed me down somewhat, and I gave my redheaded friend (yes, the great Jade West called Cat Valentine her friend) a look that said '_are you really talking about this to me?' _She got the message and tried to change the subject. "Have you heard? There's a new kid coming to school this morning!" Cat exclaimed. This caught my attention. The last new kid... well, we all knew about my dislike for Tori Vega. This new kid would probably be some tall blonde with bright blue eyes and be all over _my _Beck, trying to steal him. Or perhaps it would be a different kind of girl. Another Goth chick who thinks she can steal my thunder. I'd show her.

"How much do you know about the newbie?" I asked Cat. Information would definitely be necessary. Cat rolled on the balls of her feet, and started picking at her nails.

"I don't really know anything, only that there was a new kid in our grade," Cat answered meekly. I sighed; I guess I'd have to find out about her from face value. This new girl would not stand a chance facing up against me. The bell rang its melodious ring, signaling students to exit the halls to class. I organized my things in my locker for a minute or two as Cat rushed to Sikowitz's class, but knowing Sikowitz would be late anyway, so I took my time.

**Unknown POV**

I walked down the halls of an unfamiliar school early in the morning, and dealt with all of the administration work, because I was new to the school. All kinds of eccentric people were dancing, eating weird food for breakfast or doing something quirky. The colours were almost blinding, and all of the unique lockers stood out, showing the traits of their owners. A strange bell sounded, and everyone dispersed from their positions into various rooms. A dark skinned student that introduced himself as Andre led me to my classroom, warning me about somebody.

"Yeah, Sikowtz is pretty weird. Brace yourself," he finished. Everybody at this school seemed pretty weird, so I wondered what this Sikowitz person was like in order to make these kids think he was strange. Walking into the classroom I observed the children already sitting down. There was a girl that looked like she had Latina genetics, a girl with red hair (not orange, _red_), a rather nerdy looking boy with a strange puppet and a tan boy with fluffy-looking dark hair. There were a few other people sitting down, but they didn't seem to stand out as much. A strange man who was wearing tattered clothes that looked like they came straight out of a second hand thrift shop, coconut in hand and no hair other than the wild locks sticking out of the side of his head walked out from behind the curtains. The other students seemed not to think anything was unusual about a homeless-looking man who smelled odd wandering around the front of the classroom, so I shifted uncomfortably.

"That there's Sikowitz," Andre said as he passed me and sat down in a plastic chair.

"Ah! New student!" The man who was apparently the teacher exclaimed. I looked around the room nervously, being put in the centre of attention was unnerving at the moment. "Come up here on the stage, child, and we will introduce ourselves to you first." I don't remember if that's how the whole new-student-in-class routine was supposed to go, but I decided now was the time to stop acting like a wimp, and straightened my shoulders, striding to the front with confidence. Going around the room, the kids introduced themselves, so I would feel more comfortable about presenting myself afterwards. The half-Latina introduced herself as Tori Vega, as she fluttered her eyes, and mentioned something about loving to sing and act. The redhead shouted out that her name was Cat- but not like the animal, like a person! The nerd was named Robbie, and as he was about to say something about himself the puppet interrupted him, and I learnt its name was Rex. The other boy ran his hand through his fluffy hair.

"I'm Beck," he said smoothly, and the girls around the class stopped training their eyes on me and swooned a little, with the exception of Tori and Cat. Andre I already knew, and after the class was finished with introductions, I started to feel a bit more at ease in front of everyone. Then, as Sikowitz was going to tell me to tell the class about myself, the door slammed open. Standing in the doorway was nobody I could have imagined of ever seeing. She was beautiful. Dark hair with green and blue highlights contrasted against her porcelain skin, her eyebrows harsh with a piercing adorning one, as well as a matching nose stud. Her pink lips looked so soft, so kissable. What stood out most though, aside from her dark clothes and sharp features, were her eyes. They were an icy blue with flickers of green in the centre, but looking into them, I was hypnotized. She held the attention from everyone in the room, and had an expression of confusion and perhaps something else that was masked, before striding towards a vacant seat next to Beck.

**Jade POV**

I threw out the remains of my coffee and put the container in a nearby trash can. I took the long route around the (rather small) visual arts block, passed the kids who thought they were being cool and rebellious by playing hooky, drinking, smoking and doing drugs. They gave me a small wave and I scoffed. People would usually pin me as an alcohol abusing drug dealer, but I was definitely above that. I definitely didn't want to ruin any thread of a career I had before I even started it. I continued walking and passed through the back doors leading back into the the performing arts side of the school. I turned towards the improv room door; hand on the cool metal of the handle. I swear, there better not be any girls flocking around my currently alone boyfriend. If that new kid took the empty seat next to him, the seat I claimed as my own, which the other girls knew never to vacate- I swear, she will not see another day. I took in a breath and opened the door, internally wincing (I would never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me flinch) at the loud bang it made as it slammed against the wall. Looking up towards the stage the new kid stood straight in the middle. My eyebrows furrowed slightly as I took in the appearance of this kid. _He _was definitely not what I was expecting. This whole morning, from when Cat first told me about the new kid, nobody ever specified the gender. So this _boy _stood on the stage with an expression I really didn't want to read, in dark jeans and a leather jacket. He reminded me of Ryder Daniels, with his dark hair and tough guy look. He was definitely not _ugly. _The one thing that told me he wasn't the kind of guy like Ryder Daniels, though, was his eyes. They were a soft coffee colour, and didn't hold the mischievous look that Ryder's had, which you knew only meant trouble. They reminded me of Beck's..._  
_

Snapping out of my trance, I walked over towards Beck. "Jade! Why are you so late?" Sikowitz called out to me.

"You are always late, except for today of course, so I decided it was my turn," I replied with my usual cold expression, giving a slight glare.

"Well, to make it up to, what's your name kid?" Sikowitz began, but ended with a questioning look at the new boy. He fumbled with the ends of the sleeves of his jacket slightly before answering with 'Mike'. "To make it up to Mike, you can act with him on his first improvisation sketch! After he introduces himself properly of course- Jade come up here!"

I groaned and trudged onto the stage. I gave the kid a seething glance and gave Beck a secret smile. He didn't seem to notice it, so I let out a little frown- only for a millisecond, naturally, before putting on my trademark scowl. Looking at Mike through my peripherals, he wasn't too much of an eyesore. "Well, I'm Mike, I guess," he started, but abruptly stopped after I scoffed. "Is there something you want to add?" Mike asked quietly, no malice or sarcasm I could trace in his voice. I let out a grumble and turned to face the back wall again.

**Mike POV**

"So, uh, I ride a motorcycle, live with my Pop and I'm into rock and roll. I like to act and play the guitar, but I don't have much confidence in my singing voice," I summed up. I couldn't help but steal another glance at the beauty standing next to me. She had her eyes narrowed slightly, eyelashes close to pressing against each other. She shouldn't do that; I couldn't help but think that she looked so much more stunning with her bright eyes on display, even though her thick, dark eyelashes were also very gorgeous. Sikowitz broke me out of my reverie when he shouted out to the class, "First Improv scene! Who wants to pick a theme?"

"A dance at a ball!" Cat yelled out with giddiness.

"That will have to do. Okay, action!" Sikowitz signaled for us to begin so I turned to face the girl who Sikowitz had called Jade. I took her hand in mine, and rested my hand on her waist, as she rested hers on my shoulder. I subtly pushed my body closer to hers, and my hand on her waist was definitely aware of the wonderful curve of her hip. It didn't take much as I looked down towards her face to notice her ample chest. Desperately I tried to dispel the incoming thoughts, as being a teenage boy, and her being so close, she would definitely notice something prodding into her that isn't meant to. I looked firmly into her eyes, keeping my eyes locked on hers as I began to move my feet to music that did not exist. We both whispered sweet nothings to each other, to keep the improvisation flowing. I wasn't sure as to what I was saying in our little conversation, because I was so lost in her eyes. I must have been doing something right seeing as she kept going, however something must have triggered her anger as her face scrunched up. "What did you just say?" She demanded. I wasn't actually too sure what I had probably mumbled beforehand, and my eyes widened as she kept a stern expression. I stuttered to try and remember if I had even said anything at all. "I, uh- um, I, I," Jade obviously took this the wrong way, and stormed off the stage. Sikowitz started applauding, as did the rest of the class.

"Good work keeping the audience's attention with that twist, you two! Great job," He complimented as Jade went to pick up her Gears of War messenger bag, which she had placed at the side of the room earlier. The bell chimed again. and that's when I snapped back into reality. I forgot we were acting.

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**What did you think? I have already written the next chapter, but tell me what you thought of this **

**-Captain Black Feather**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for everyone reading this :D I've already written the next couple of chapters, but I want to release them gradually. I have a government-issued laptop, which I call 'craptop', and I write everything on it. Being a cheap-ass computer which the government has to provide to all grade 9 students, I am in constant fear of the craptop crashing on me, and the worst part is that half of the internet is blocked. How redundant. I tried to email my home computer my documents, but the email drops whenever it detects something inappropriate :/ It becomes a trek to retype everything. Now that you've heard that riveting tale, onto the disclaimer!**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

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**Beck POV**

I smiled as I gathered my things. Jade had worked this beginner into easy acting material. She used his amateur skills to her advantage, knowing his reaction would be naturally flustered as to why she broke out into a fury for seemingly no reason. While she would always prefer working with a skilled actor, she could turn even rookies into props to use to enhance her performance. I followed her out of the room, as Andre, Tori and Cat (both who seemed to be appreciating his looks) stayed behind, as well as Robbie; who would stay wherever Cat was, stayed behind while Mike as he talked to Sikowitz about something.

"You were great babe," I said as I kissed Jade on the cheek, while she continued to walk out to her next class.

"I always am," she replied with slight smugness.

"I need to grab something from my locker before I go to class," I told her, briefly pecking her on the lips, and headed off to my locker before she could reply. I walked up to my transparent locker, kneeled down and opened it, grabbing my book which I had previously forgotten. As I did so, a tall blonde girl with green eyes (I think her name was Claire? Clarissa?) waltzed up next to me and a few other girls I had not noticed earlier stayed behind her. "Hey Beck," she smiled, fluttering her eyelashes a bit.

"Hey, uh, Cla..."

"Claudia," she answered, undeterred from the fact I had forgotten her name.

"Claudia. What's up?" I asked. The girls behind her giggled a bit, they were blatantly staring at me.

"Well, I was just wondering, did you do something new to your hair?" She asked, stroking it. I was slightly uncomfortable with the way these girls were acting, but I wasn't going to tell them to leave. That would be rude.

"Uh, no, nothing new with my hair, I guess," I said uneasily. They only giggled again. I stood up straight, and tried to weave my way out of conversation.

**Mike POV**

I walked around, trying to find the next classroom when I saw that Beck kid talking to some girls. They were flirting with him pretty obviously. Didn't somebody tell me he had a girlfriend? Maybe he could help me with Jade; he seemed to know what he was doing when it comes to girls. Don't get me wrong, I'm always good with the ladies, but the girls here at this school were different to most girls, and he has known them longer than I have- I bet he'd know how I could get to Jade. I walked up to him, hands in my pockets, and cleared my throat. "Hey, new guy, Mike right?" He asked.

"Yeah. Hey, could I talk to you alone for a second?" I asked him, giving the girls (who were now ogling me) a glance. They got the message, and left with winks and waves. I took Beck to the side and mustered up some courage, looking him in the eyes. "Can I get some advice on girls? I mean, normally I'm pretty smooth, but the girls seem different here, and there's this one girl," I trailed off. "It's just that you seem to be a hit with the pretty girls and you are supposed to be in a strong relationship, or so I've heard, so I was wondering if you could help?" Beck grinned at me and asked,

"Who's the girl?"

"I don't really want to-" I said uncertainly. Jade west seemed to be the girl nobody would mess with, and I wasn't sure how Beck would react.

"I get it," he told me, "you're new here, and you're not sure if you can trust me with your crush. It's okay, I'll give you advice." I smiled and he gestured for me to come closer. "First ask her for some help on homework or something, don't forget to compliment her in every way possible, but make it subtle. That will warm her up to you, and you can start to ask her out on dates after she's more comfortable around you, as opposed to somebody she hardly knows," he finished.

"Thanks man," I said to him, and he waved and jogged off to his class. I found my class after a little while of searching, and the teacher excused my lateness because I was new, and bound to get lost. I sat down next to some guy who was wearing tough-bad-guy sort of clothes, and got my books out.

"Hey, my name's Ryder. Ryder Daniels. Word on the street is you're Mike. Got a last name kid?" I gave a small amused scoff; this guy was trying to out-cool me.

"Yeah, I'm Mike. You could also call me Michael Badalacki, but if you like your reputation as a guy with any kind of street cred, you'll call me Mike," I told him.

"Threatening me Newbie?" He asked, though I knew he was joking.

"Hey, you know Jade West?" I asked him, hushing as the teacher walked past.

"Yeah, yeah, I know her. She's hot on the outside man- scorching hot- but she's cold to the touch, Ice cold. I'd definitely tap that if she wasn't such a bitch most of the time. Her rack and ass are nice though, you got to admit," he explained. I didn't really like the way he was talking about her, but it wasn't in my place to say anything. Maybe a better question would hail better answers. "She like anything? What's she in Hollywood Arts for?" I asked him.

"Aw, I don't know really. She makes creepy plays, but you have to say they're good. I've heard she can sing well, but I don't think many people have heard her before. She acts and stuff, but lately Sikowitz's new favourite, Tori Vega, has been getting all of the leads in plays, which definitely pisses her off," he said while smirking. "She hates that Tori Vega chick," Ryder made a grimace. "So do I." I was about to ask him what was up with Tori, who seemed nice to me in the brief moment I saw her, but I guess I can't judge on appearances. The bell rang for the end of class and Ryder brushed past me saying, "I'd stay away from the West, if I were you. She's bad news kid." I shrugged it off, and found Andre again.

"Hey dude, you want to sit with me and the others at lunch?" He asked. Thankful for the invitation, I agreed to sit with him. We walked out onto what Andre called the Asphalt Cafe and sat down at a table. Tori, Cat and Robbie were already sitting down when we reached the table. Tori fluttered her eyelashes a little when she responded to my greeting with "Hi Mike." I smiled and sat down. Beck and Jade walked up together and sat down, and I shook my head before anyone noticed I was staring. I asked Tori if there was a reason why Ryder didn't like her, and she started up about how he was a player, used girls and couldn't be trusted. The conversation circled around that topic and I turned to Jade, who was stabbing her salad with her fork.

"Jade?" I called out quietly. She turned her head to face me, but that's all she did to acknowledge me. "Uh, I'm making a short movie for a competition, and I heard you were the best writer in our grade (that's right, butter it up) or even at Hollywood Arts. I was wondering if you could help me," I asked almost nervously; but I definitely sounded more confident than I felt because I don't do nervous. She didn't seem to think about it and replied,

"Stop sucking up to me so I can write your script or whatever for you. I don't work like that, _Mike_," disdain set in her voice.

"No, I don't want you to write it or anything, just help me edit things or give me pointers," I hastily corrected. She seemed to reconsider.

"Whatever. I'll show up if you're lucky."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey everyone. This chapter is everyone's POV on the turn of events...(I tried to write Rex, but I failed. I see his character being a bit redundant so I cut him out :P) This and the next chapter could be considered fillers, but it focuses a bit more on the character development. If you aren't into that, just giving you a heads up for the next chap, after that is back on the story-line. Grateful for the positive reviews I've got :D I smile every time I see them, truly appreciative 3. PS- I don't own Victorious. Sir Dan Schneider does.**

**Side note, was anybody else upset about Tori Goes Platinum? My emotions were on a roller-coaster and I ended up curled up in a corner rocking myself back and forth because of the almost Bori kiss. Then I kind of shut down and decided all I would be upset about was the fact we didn't get to see the full auditions for everyone else but Tori. :'( Another point of controversy in the Victorious/Bade fandom is 'Tori fixes Beck and Jade'. It could just be Dan trolling again, but some people seem upset about the idea of Tori fixing Bade's relationship. I honestly think when Tori came into the picture their dynamic as a couple changed, as Jade got a bit more possessive and perhaps a bit more bitter and Beck become more emotionally-sterile. So if we complain about the fact they were a couple for about 3 years, and they would have had to deal with fights themselves before Tori, it was probably different thus the reason for Tori needing to 'fix' them. Again, it could just be trolling. Either way, apparently Jade sings something which I am so hyped for, but I hope it's Beck that realises he was in the wrong and redeems himself, otherwise I would hurt something for the fact that it's just being dog to Jade and a total repeat of 'Jade dumps Beck'.**

******I didn't intend for that to be that long. :/ Just putting my two cents in. You can skip that rant if you want. I hope I didn't write anyone too OOC.**

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**Beck POV**

Mike asked Jade for help on a short Movie. Was it Jade he was talking about when he was telling me about liking a girl? No, it couldn't be. Somebody would have told him she had a boyfriend, right? He should know, definitely. It's common knowledge here at HA. Maybe Mike really does need Jade's help on his movie? Jade is one of the best students at Hollywood Arts and despite her bitter outlook on life, nobody would deny she had the talent and the devotion to drive herself forwards in life. Yes, that would be right; he was genuinely asking Jade for help. It was surely another girl which he liked. Jade is gorgeous, but a person like Mike would be turned off by her personality. There is nothing to worry about. It's her job to get jealous in this relationship, because we all know she does it well enough for the both of us. I wasn't being threatened by the new kid. That's where Jade got off on the wrong foot with Tori. I decided I would not go down that path. Mike is harmless, I keep telling myself. Nothing to worry about.

**Jade POV**

So Mike wanted help on a short Movie. He kept sucking up to me so I bet he was just trying to get me to do all the work, and take all of the credit. I would not fall for the same Dale Squires scam that Tori fell for, no not me. I was much smarter than Vega. He seemed like he was lying about something, so I was being very wary. Mike was what other clique girls would call 'easy on the eyes', though, and he seemed different than the typical bad boy. So I thought maybe it would be a good idea to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps Beck would be proud of me trying to tolerate somebody who you could argue I was foreign with. Don't get me wrong, I love Beck with every square millimeter my black heart spans, but his attitude seems to be changing lately. It's as if he's putting up with me now, making me jealous on purpose, and always taking someone else's (Vega's) side in an argument. Even if he tells me he's not flirting with girls, they still flirt with him and he lets them, which is not only unfair to me, but also to those other girls who think they even have a chance with him. These thoughts stimulated my temper for a bit, so I decided So be it.

If Beck could have girls floating around him, I could spend time with some other guy. He won't have a problem with it anyway, I thought bitterly, but maybe it'd be good to make a new... _friend_. It's not like Beck to get jealous.

It's not like Beck to care.

**Mike POV**

The bell rang at the end of the day, and I cleared the things off of my desk. As I strolled out of the doorway I almost bumped into a black blur. Halted, I could now tell that the black blur was Jade, who was balancing her gears of war bag hanging off of her shoulder, and scissors dangling from her left hand fingers. "I'll help you with your stupid movie; I'll come over your house after school tomorrow. What's your address, and phone number?" She asked. This was certainly progress. My first day at school and I had the epitome of beauty in front of me, asking for my number and address. Then I realised she was still there.

"Oh, yeah, here's my number, and address..." I slowly said, dragging my words as I searched for a piece of paper to write on. Jade rolled her eyes, pulled a pen out of her pocket and thrust her arm in front of me, pen in hand.

"Just write it on the back of my hand," she told me bluntly. I took her creamy pale hand and held it up as I took the pen, and couldn't help but notice how soft her hands were, how delicate and small it seemed to feel in mine. Pressing the pen against her skin I jotted down my mobile number and the address to my new house, and handed the pen back to her. Successfully written down, she took off, taking my details with her. Jade was coming to my house tomorrow. I had already kind of settled in, and my furniture was already in place at my new home. Now all I had to do was find a short film competition and brainstorm ideas to get a good, solid story. All by tomorrow afternoon.

**Cat POV**

There was a new student today! His name was Mike Badalacki. He's really good looking. Tori seemed to like him a lot, but he seemed to really like Jade. I wonder if anybody has told him she's dating Beck. If he didn't know that would be sad. Did you know that dinosaurs are extinct? That is so sad too! Either way, I don't think it would be good if Mike started flirting with Jade or something. Not because she would hit him, even though she would, but because Beck probably wouldn't do anything. That's also really sad. Now I'm upset... When I suggested a dance at a ball for the improv exercise in Sikowitz's class earlier, I thought it would be fun! Mike looked kind of funny up there, though, because his face was so focused on Jade's. Everyone says my face always looks vacant. I think my face always looks happy, because I'm always smiling!

**Robbie POV**

Today sure was an interesting day. There was a new kid, and his name's Mike. All of the girls were staring at him, they probably think he's some bad boy or something, who cares? Maybe I could get some pointers from him on how to act cool. Not that he was acting all that cool anyway, the way he was always staring at Jade. I'm not going to be the one to tell him she's dating somebody else. He might try to beat me up or something, it wouldn't be the first time. I do feel sorry for Mike, if just a little bit. I think the entire male population of the student body has at one point fallen for Jade West; from little freshmen to seniors who appreciate her curves, but being a school filled with actors, they manage to hide it well. If they weren't good actors, they would probably get caught staring and have to face the wrath of the Wicked Witch of the West. It isn't much of a wonder, consequently, that Jade doesn't really know about any of this. She's so probably not used to guys flirting with her unless they are really making a point of it, that she wouldn't be able to tell unless she got hit in the face with a hammer marked 'I'm flirting with you'. I'll admit, I do realise she is pretty, but there are lots of pretty girls at Hollywood Arts. I think Cat's prettier, honestly.

**Tori POV**

I'm finally not the last new kid at Hollywood Arts! There was this hot boy, though just my luck he fell for Jade. What's up with that? Can't anyone see she's a horrible person? Okay, maybe that was uncalled for. I am trying to be friends with her, but it's hard to get along with a bitter girl who holds a massive grudge against me. I just don't think our personalities work together. I can try to be friendly, but civil is all she can really manage. Something about her infuriates me sometimes, and I hate it because I can't help it. I'd like to be able to be friends with her, but I guess it takes two to tango. Ugh! Mike though, why can't he just like me? First Beck- who I have no more feelings for whatsoever, (though there were a few to begin with) then Andre, and now Mike. It seems tough girls are what boys like. I could say Robbie, but really. He likes any girl who talks to him. Maybe Mike will eventually realise how much of a gank Jade can be, or get over her through song. What I did notice too, was that Beck and Jade seemed to have no idea that he was totally into her. I would expect that much of Jade, she's probably so unaccustomed to guys flirting with her unless they are really making a point of it, that she wouldn't be able to tell unless she got hit in the face with a hammer marked 'I'm flirting with you'. Beck however; I don't know if he's blind or not anymore.

**Andre** **POV**

As part of the student committee, I had to lead the new kid around the school and into his first class, which was with me and Sikowitz. I did the same thing with Tori, though she I already knew beforehand. The head of the committee thought I did a good job, so it's now my job to lead new students around. Mike seemed like a pretty chill guy, so I invited him to sit with me and the gang. He seemed to like Jade though, or he was a super good actor already. I've been down that road man. It's not a pretty road. It's more like a dark, cobblestone road with dead trees surrounding it with crows cawing and everything. I'm still on that road, but nobody knows that. I liked Jade for quite a while, but I'm not a best-friend's-girlfriend-stealer, so I kept it cook. Hearing her sing led to me needing help though. I don't fall in love overnight, so when I told Tori, I was surprised she believed me when I told her my feelings were new. I went to her because she is a beautiful, sweet girl and if anyone could help me get over Jade, it was her. She did help, and when I sang that song with her my love for Jade shrank, if just a little bit. Tori's voice isn't quite as angelic, and she can't jam with me. She can't write her own songs very well, but she's still a good person. I told her I got over Jade, but I hadn't. I didn't want to disappoint her. Like I said earlier, I don't fall in love overnight. I also don't fall out of love overnight. That night definitely helped though, and I can see Tori being the light at the end of the tunnel- but I still harbour a little bit of love for Jade.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: So here's the chapter which I find kind of boring, but probably necessary. Not my favourite chapter, but as you can see I love metaphors and irony. _Love. _I probably could have done better though :P Oh well, this was my brainstorming at its peak. The next chapter is almost ready, so that will be back into the normal story routine. Just a warning, don't be surprised if the next few chapters are a bit slower. I have to hand in my little craptop for maintenance next week, so I won't be able to write at school. Enjoy this chapter as best you can, however :)**

**Also, the short movie idea came from a brain-surge I got after I had a dream which played out like a total Romantic-tragedy, so I was pretty proud of it ;P**

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**Mike POV**

I spent the whole night working on ideas for a short movie. I found a competition on the internet, it starts in LA in a few months, but Jade won't know that. She'll only know that there is a competition, and that she's helping me make a movie to enter in it. If the competition rolls around, then I guess I might enter in it, but we'll see how everything works out. My story idea is a romantic tragedy, based on a young couple that are struggling to figure out their feelings for each other. It reaches the point where the boyfriend asks himself if he really does love his girlfriend, or just cares for her a lot. His brooding comes to a halt when his girlfriend finds herself in a car accident, and the boyfriend finds himself pressured when he is given the option of donating his blood to give to her, in order for her to recover. It would require a large amount of blood to save her, and he is worried about the high risk of death for himself. Asking himself if he is prepared to die for her, he decides to take a walk and avoid all of the stress the doctors are causing him. He decides that he couldn't live without his girlfriend by his side, and that he truly loves her. Running back to the hospital, ready to donate his blood, the doctor tells him it is already too late. There is a kiss between the boyfriend and his dead lover, before he breaks down, and everything fades to black.

I thought Jade might like that. I could make it the alternate '_he saves her life, they live happily together forever after' _ending, but it wouldn't impress Jade like the tragic ending I had decided on. As the night rolled on I went to bed, happy with my progress.

The sun pierced through the curtains in the morning, blinding me temporarily, before I grasped my surroundings. I was lying in my new bed, in my new house. I moved here with my Pop after my mother died because of a rare disease. It has been tough for me these past few months, but Pop convinced me that if I moved here to LA with him, and transfer to the prestigious Hollywood Arts, I could further my dreams of becoming an A-grade actor, and perhaps restore some of the old life in me. It's a big dream, but I have to keep pushing myself forwards, it would be what Ma would want.

**Jade POV**

I woke up in my dark room, groaning as the light attacked my eyes. I would definitely need a coffee. Beck blew me off for homework; otherwise I would be waking up in the RV right now- cuddled up to my boyfriend, him getting me my coffee for me, me asking him to stay in bed with me and yelling when he would push me off the bed. Him kissing me asking me to forgive him.

Beck wanted me to do homework instead, so I let him. Even though it was the perfect excuse to get me to leave, when he obviously didn't want me around so he could go gallivanting with some girl, I let him. He always says I'm overprotective. If he didn't always have pretty girls flocking around him, maybe I would feel less _insecure. _Yes, I said it, insecure. There are so many other girls that are far prettier and far more perfect than me floating nearby, and they all show an interest in him. My emotional baggage doesn't help either. Every day I worry he is finally going to see that, and that this day could be the last day he spends with me. I think I'm pushing him away from me whenever I get upset with him, but I can't help but feel that he isn't interested in our relationship any more, because he is always rolling his eyes. I put up these walls, these defences around my heart so I won't have to deal with emotional crap when people show their true colours. Isn't it ironic that everybody hates me? I'm only what everyone else is on the inside, but in plain view. I'm honest, what everyone always told me to be as a kid. If everyone was true to themselves, like me, everybody would hate each other; save for Cat- it's why I'm friends with her, because she isn't fake. Sighing at the moronic ways of the world, I returned to my previous thoughts. Putting everything into metaphors (A skill I came to perfect after years of explaining things to Cat in ways she would understand) I rethought my previous musings.

My heart is guarded by castle walls. As a very little child, I opened my gates to everyone. Not aware of the fact some people were offensive and could attack my castle, there were no defences. When my parents got divorced, my walls shattered, crumbled and were crushed by reality. My dad became negligent of me, so nobody could help me rebuild when my mother turned to drugs. The black and dark exterior not only helped me strengthen the walls surrounding me, which I rebuilt taller and stronger than anyone else's, but you could also say it was a cry for attention for my father to notice me. Whenever he pissed me off I would put in new streaks, and it definitely worked after I dyed my hair black.

Cat was obviously harmless, so I let her in, saving myself from extreme isolation. Beck had to work a bit harder. When he first asked me out, I can hardly recall. He asked me out several times, each time leaving with several injuries, a coffee stain or a damaged ego- as much as it could have been damaged, anyway. I finally agreed to going on a date with him after he got so irritating I couldn't stand being in the same room as him, and be constantly conflicted by my feelings for him. I told him if I went out with him on one date, he was to leave me alone. We agreed on lunch at a cafe, coffee, and the rest is history. Slowly he had chipped at my tough exterior, until he made a small hole he could crawl through to get to my gross, gooey soft side. The problem with this, though, is that Beck and Cat became the foundations that held my castle walls together. If either of them walked away, half of me (or perhaps all of me) would collapse. It was dangerous, depending on these two people to keep me stable. I'd always had a better disposition when I had someone with me; especially if they countered my personality. It could arguably be either Cat or Beck that were my polar opposites.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I decided I needed to stop with the metaphors. Even an aspiring play writer had to draw a line between poetic license and talking in Shakespeare quotations.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey everyone! I got my laptop back, and honestly I wish I hadn't given it in. The back button on my internet browser is screwing up, and somebody stained my laptop with highlighter (Don't ask me how) and all week I have been worried because I didn't back up my work. I have it back now, though, and my arm no longer feels empty after not carrying it around everywhere. The story continues from this point.**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

**IMPORTANT: I wrote the description for Mike's motorbike, but alas I have no idea how a motorcycle even works, so I got a model from a website. I'm not promoting it in any way, but for having no knowledge on the subject of mechanics, I had to at least do a little bit of research. If you are concerned about product placement or something, I'll see what I can do, but for now,**

**The extract from the passage was something I made up while half mulling over thoughts in my head while reading Romeo and Juliet in English (Which will probably make an appearance later in the story, because inspiration comes from everywhere).**

**Enjoy**

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**Mike POV**

I rode into school on my motorbike. It wasn't anything too fancy or expensive, but it was an awesome looking bike. It was a Yamaha road sports motorbike, Lava Red FZ1S.

I took off my helmet, and clipped it to the handlebars. I noticed Jade with a Jetbrew coffee cup in her hands, giving me a sideways glance. From the expression she usually wears, I could tell that she was giving either me or my bike a look of approval. Even through her stone cold poker face, I found it easy to see through her; eyes are the window to the soul, and I think it's known how much I love studying her eyes. I strolled past onlookers admiring me in my leather jacket (the bike always leaves an impression) and entered the performing arts block. I had compulsory history class first, so I made my way over before giving a wave to Tori, who was standing by her light-up locker, 'Make it Shine' displayed for everyone to see. She gave me a slightly flirty smile and waved back; I gave a small smile and nodded back in response. I made my way around the back of the hall to the back doors to leave the performing arts block and enter the academic block, when I was stopped by Claudia, the girl who was speaking to Beck the last time I saw her.

"Do you like Jade? Like, _like _like her?" She asked. I stood there, a bit stunned and taken aback at her bluntness, but recovered quickly.

"Maybe, I'm not sure?" I told her in response, unsure of her intentions.

"Well, either way, she's dating Beck while I'm still available," She informed me, stroking my arm.

Why did nobody tell me this? You would think somebody would say something about Jade dating somebody. Ryder easily could have told me, but he was a jerk from what I've heard, so perhaps it was to be expected of his nature. Beck didn't seem to be the kind of guy Jade would date, so maybe that gave me more of a chance with her. He mustn't be a very good boyfriend, the way he let other girls flirt with him- like Claudia was doing to me now.

"Oh, yeah, I knew that, but I have to get to class now," I lied to her, pushing her off me gently. She pouted, but after a while a smirk grew on her face and she waved me off. Okay, this whole thing was news to me, sure. I'm not going to give in to Beck any time soon, however. Jade's too good for a player, and I would show her that. I guess It's war now, and I'd launch my first sneak attack this afternoon. All's fair in love and war.

**Jade POV**

I saw Mike ride into school this morning, after my trip to Jetbrew. He was riding on some motorbike into the car park and I gave it a once over. It looked alright, red and everything, but I don't know bike crap. Mike did look fine in that black leather jacket and denim jeans though, let me tell you. Not that I was looking, I have a boyfriend. Having missed out on breakfast this morning, my body forced me to crawl over to Festus' truck. I ordered a salad, grabbed a fork and sat down at a table. Cat joined me shortly after I sat down.

"Hey Jadey, guess what!" She shouted. I hushed her a bit, not wanting anybody to hear the pet name she had given me. It was embarrassing enough when it was only the two of us, but I didn't have the heart (I know, surprise-surprise, Jadelyn West has a heart; but anything otherwise would be predictable) to yell at her to not call me that.

"What?" I asked her, not particularly interested in whatever her brother did last night, but humoring her anyway.

"I got the new Skystore catalogue yesterday afternoon! I spent the whole night ordering things, and I got you something," she said. I didn't really want floating underwear, but she seemed excited and it was the thought that counts. She rummaged through her floral pink bag, and brought out a ring with a skull on it.

"I thought you would like it! It's a mood ring, see, the skull's eyes change colour depending on your mood!" She said, handing me a sheet of paper with a code for all of the different colours. I put the ring on my left middle finger, and sure enough the eye sockets turned an orange colour, if you looked into it. I checked the code; my mood was apparently content. I really did like it, and I was grateful for Cat's generosity, but I guess it takes a lot to make me genuinely _happy._ Still, content is a step up from angry and bitter. "Do you like it?" She asked me. I gave a small smile and nodded at her.

"Yeah, uh, thanks Cat," I said to her. She seemed pleased with my response, as me saying 'Thank you' happens really quite rarely. If the others were sitting at the table they would be finding it hard to hide their slightly shocked faces. Giggling and clapping, Cat started fumbling in her bag for something she got herself, happy that I hadn't yelled at her and I liked her gift. Beck wandered up and sat down next to me.

"Hey Jade, Cat," he said, pecking me on the corner of my mouth before taking out a quick snack.

"Hey," I replied in a monotone voice. My boyfriend glanced at me for a second and returned to his biscuit. We sat together in a slightly awkward silence, sans the faint giggling from a redheaded girl who was enthralled with her 'instant ice machine', until the bell rang.

**Mike POV**

The bell had rung and I was already at my History class, so I walked in and saw Sinjin. Somebody had told me about him and his strange ways already, and I felt a bit bad for him. Then I saw the desktop picture on his laptop, which he had propped up on his desk. It looked like Jade in a dark room decorated with strange paintings and decor, as well as a bed painted in black with a small canopy. As soon as it clicked in my mind that this was Jade's room, I immediately felt disgust rather than pity for this boy. The classroom filled up shortly after the teacher showed up, and five minutes into the lesson Jade walked in. She wasn't as late in this class as she was for Sikowitz's, so when she strut into the room the teacher didn't question her; either that or even _the teacher _dare not challenge Jade. There were two empty seats left, one adjacent to Sinjin and one adjacent to me. She huffed silently and sat down next to me, purposely ignoring the leering nerd a few seats away. I tried not to stare at her, although Sinjin was making it pretty obvious that she was the object of his focus. The teacher continued with the lesson, and after Jade sent a harsh glare to the other boy, who looked away almost instantly, she went back to her work. I was a bit concerned about the tech savvy boy and his advances. If his desktop picture really was a picture of Jade in her room, and he was as obsessed with her as he seemed, somebody could probably call the police on him. I tried not to think about what could have happened unbeknownst to anyone concerning the lanky, skinny jean wearing boy and focused on my work. Towards the end of the lesson, I had finished writing down notes from the board at the front of the room.

"Who here can recite the passage? How about you, Mike?" The teacher asked me. I took a breath and looked down at my notes, and read aloud the sample from my book.

"_Doth True love cannot be judged so. Two lovers to a heart may express the depths of their innermost feelings to each other by quarreling a murder of crows between themselves, or to enjoy splendid passion from the bottom of each tendril in their bodies, flowing throughout their shared souls. Love is love, and true as it may be love cannot be more so than itself, and thus is not comparable to what it is. Why limit the trifling chances of this love you may receive by halving suitors by a triviality so dainty to be defined by a gender. Two minds connect as do hearts, souls and bodies. We are not to deny anybody of this enriching emotion, that brings two of one together. Lovers made for each other should not be oppressed and separated by others and their opinions." _I spoke aloud. I turned back to the front, but I noticed Jade looking at me through the corner of my eye.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey everyone :) Here's the chapter where Mike & Jade have a little bonding session after school. Thank you for reading with me thus far, and enjoy the story. I don't have much to say, other than **

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider. **

**Did everyone else enjoy Crazy Ponnie as much as I did?**

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**Jade POV**

Mike read aloud the passage with eloquence and passion. It brushed the sensitive spot in my heart, and it definitely shouldn't have. I tried to brush it off, but I was enticed by the way he had spoken with such elegance. The bell rang, saving me from my thoughts, so I got up and packed my things. I met Cat for lunch after my Advanced English class, which I took by myself seeing as not many kids wrote plays and studied English to the extent I did. Listening absently to Cat rattling on about something that happened at Christmas last year in her family, I sat down at the usual table next to Andre. He smiled at me and I rolled my eyes in a playful manner, giving a half smile before bringing out my food. I took a bite of my vegetable burrito as Tori, Beck and Robbie sat down on my other side. Beck kissed my temple and I gave him a soft smile after swallowing. Mike walked up and sat down next to Tori as conversation stirred. Some senior guy approached us and asked me if I wanted to go to some party, along with Beck of course, but I dismissed him. I went to parties sometimes, but only to re-establish my place in the social hierarchy of the school. Believe it or not, with dominance over most of the school comes high popularity. Seniors aren't as intimidated by me, but they keep their distance, and acknowledge how much my opinion has sway over everyone else. Returning my thoughts to the current conversation, I added a snarky comment towards Vega and continued listening to everyone's babbling.

The bell rang, and my next two classes went on without issues so I sent Beck a message letting him know where I would be going tonight. Dad wouldn't care, but I wanted Beck to know where I was, not for any specific reason, of course.

**Mike POV**

After riding home, I parked my bike in the garage and put my helmet away. Stripping myself of my leather jacket, I brought down all of the notes I had for the short movie script, and got some snacks together if Jade wanted anything to eat. Some thirty minutes later a car engine could be heard from my unfamiliar driveway and I made haste to be ready to open the door when Jade walked up. Before she had time to bring her hand up to rap her knuckles on the door, I swung it open, and she stood one hand hoisted on her hip. I motioned for her to enter, and she sauntered through the doorway and into the living room, then sat on the couch. I set out my notes on the table, offered Jade a fruit salad which she accepted and then she started to read what I had written so far. I watched her eyes swivel back and forth as she scanned the words printed on the sheets of paper in her hands, dark eyelashes clouding the view of the tops of her irises. Her lips were slightly parted and I could faintly hear her small breaths accompanying the rise and fall of her chest. She brushed some of her dark hair behind her ear, and I turned to shuffle some things on the table in front of the couch before she noticed me watching her. I could tell she was looking at me, so I picked up my fruit salad and continued eating. She resumed reading and after a few minutes put what I had written up back on the table.

"Not bad, I guess. There are a few things that could do with changing in there, but I guess for a rookie you are okay," she told me. I was pleased with this response, it was much better than her trashing everything; she's probably more professional than that anyway.

"Okay, can you point out some things that you think need work?" I asked her. She began telling me how I could reword things and improve scenes to increase interest in a viewer, and I leaned over her shoulder looking at my notes as she absently corrected a few spelling and grammatical errors along the way. After a while of me throwing in suggestions, she seemed to realise how close we were. Her pale cheeks gained a slight rosy colour and she turned away, shifting a bit further away on the couch and cleared her throat.

"Yeah, you have a pretty alright story on your hands there, newbie," she said, steadying her voice.

"Thanks," I said, giving her a boyish grin. She quickly moved to pick up the remains of her fruit salad, but I stopped her.

"I'll get that, don't worry," I told her, and took the plastic container out of her hands, brushing them as I did so. I picked up my cup as well and moved over to throw them in the bin. I turned around and saw her bending over, picking up her bag, which she had brought over when she first came here. My eyes travelled down the slope of her back, where she was bent over, toned ass high in the air… I was saved from my train of thought as the sound of the door closing reverberated through the room. My dad walked into the room and gave Jade, who was now standing up, a quick look before raising a questioning eyebrow at me. I rubbed the back of my neck and he gave me an amused smirk, and gave me a thumbs up which was hidden from Jade's line of sight.

"Uh, hey pop, this is Jade, from school," I informed him as Jade sauntered over towards me.

"Hi," she said, and shook my dad's hand.

"I'm Mike's dad, but you can call me Tony," he told her.

"I have to go home now, so," Jade started, tilting her head towards the front door.

"Ah, yes. I was wondering who's car was in the driveway," Pop said. I walked over and opened the door, and she walked through the doorframe. I followed her out to her red car and opened the driver's seat door for her.

"That eager to get rid of me?" She asked with a smirk.

"No, just being gentlemanly," I responded. She sat down in her seat and turned on the engine. I didn't shut the door however, and kept leaning on the open door.

"Thanks for coming here tonight," I told her, genuinely.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to claw my eyes out all night, so that's something you should be proud of," she replied with a smirk. I glanced down to where her hands were placed on the steering wheel. One of her fingers was adorned with a skull-shaped ring, with eye sockets that were, glowing yellow? I shook my head a bit and looked back at Jade.

"So I'll see you at school tomorrow?" I asked her.

"Whatever, this doesn't make us friends or anything," she said with one side of her lips curled upwards. I gave an amused smile before closing her car door for her, and watched her drive off.

**Jade POV**

As I drove down the street and stopped at a red light at an intersection, my thoughts drifted back to this afternoon. The plot for the short wasn't bad; I just wondered who he would get to act the parts. I glanced down to my hands, which were resting on the steering wheel. The skull ring, if I peered into the eye sockets, displayed yellow eyes. I remembered what that was supposed to mean, _happy_. Nonsense, I thought, these mood rings are a bunch of ludicrous crap. The purring of engines around me stirred me out of my thoughts as I continued driving home. I parked my car in the driveway, walked up the stairs, ignored my dad who was sitting on the couch typing away on his laptop and opened up the door to my room before collapsing on my bed. I was exhausted, not ready to think about the events of earlier today. Grabbing my pearphone from out of my pocket, I scrolled through pages on , and eventually fell into a light slumber.

"_Hey Jade, do you want to come over to the RV tonight?"_

"_I can't, I'm hanging out with Mike after school."_

"_Why are you always hanging out with him?"_

"_Why are you so jealous?"_

"_So I guess it's okay for me to invite Tori over instead tonight,"_

"_No! It's just, ah, you wouldn't get it Beck! You are so emotionless!"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You've never cared about me until now, why all of a sudden?"_

"_Oh, just you see how emotional I can get,"_

"_Beck, what are you doing? Beck? BECK!"_

I woke up, and immediately sat up trying to catch my breath. I whimpered as I traced a finger down my arm. Sweat. I shuddered involuntarily, and threw the covers off my bed as I got up to take a shower. In the shower I tried to understand what my dream had meant. I struggled to remember the details, but I did recall shouting and getting in an argument with Beck and then he… I let out a loud sigh and turned off the incredibly hot water. I stepped out, dried off and got dressed in short pyjama shorts and a thin blue top. I walked down tho the kitchen and opened up the fridge. We always had leftover take out, because my dad never cooked or I would have to, and I didn't have the effort to cook tonight so I put a bowl of leftover soup in the microwave. I looked over to the living room, dad was still typing away making documents or whatever he does, hogging the spot in front of the TV, which was turned off. The alarm from the microwave startled me somewhat, but still grabbed my bowl with careful hands and took my dinner upstairs. I finished off my soup and put the dirty bowl on my desk, leaving it to the morning to clean and put away. I collapsed on my bed for the second time that night and tried to make sense of the dream I just had.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So, I'm sorry I haven't updated too soon. Along with my performance and rehearsals for Little Shop of Horrors, and the fact I have been sick, I've been a little handicapped. Not too much is happening in this chapter, but I wanted to lighten the mood. Certain elements of Crazy Ponnie are in this chapter, as they are necessary for the next chapter. I have no doubt the next few episodes everyone's hair will magically be back, so I left that out. This isn't a very long chapter, I'm sorry.**

**The game of strip poker isn't too elaborate, that's where I like a reader to use a bit of their imagination :) If anyone wants to take the idea of a game of strip poker to turn it into a Oneshot or something, be my guest. It was actually inspired by my time in the change room when performing LSOH, because we had to be silent so everyone in the chorus wanted to play a game of strip charades ;)**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Jade POV**

I woke up at around five in the morning, and because of my thin pyjamas it was easier to escape the warmth of my bed, rather than be trapped by incredible heat. The cold biting sensation of the cool air on my skin was satisfying as I got my clothes for the day together, and got changed into my black skirt, stockings and 'bite me' shirt. I grabbed the dirty bowl previously filled with chicken and rice soup and walked downstairs and put it in the dishwasher. It took about twenty minutes to get everything I needed ready so I headed back to bed to browse around . Tori had posted a status about Sinjin crying in the bathroom yesterday, and something about a girl named Ponnie. It's official; Vega has gone off the rails. By the time seven thirty had rolled around, I decided it was time to start the drive to school. I didn't live too far away but there was roadwork on the road I usually took to school leading to traffic, and seeing as I hate traffic, I had to take the long way through the desert to avoid it. Stopping off to grab a coffee on the way, I noticed the dark clouds coating the sky. It was unusual for rain to come around this time of year, so I furrowed my eyebrows and hopped back in my car, putting a small umbrella from the back seat in my bag just in case.

After some slightly uneventful classes, I went into Sikowitz's room.

"Today we will be learning about romantic tragedies as per curriculum, so Jade, Cat, Robbie, get on the stage and improvise something!" He shouted. I trudged up onto the stage along with Cat and Robbie, and immediately fixed myself into a character.

"I'm afraid she won't make it. Her injuries are too severe, and her vital organs are failing," I said, acting like a remorseful doctor.

"What am I supposed to do? I love her," Robbie asked in response, playing the part of a sorrowful lover.

"I will leave you to say your goodbyes," I said, then exited the stage. Sikowitz sipped his coconut in silence.

"Angelica, I love you, so much," Robbie said forlornly. Cat had taken it upon herself to lie on the floor as if it were a hospital bed.

"I love you too," Cat croaked. She let out a sigh and stopped moving altogether, except for faint breathing, which made it hard to believe she was still alive. Robbie made a few tears escape his eyes and grasped Cat's hand tightly, and kissed it.

"Scene! Very good you three, you have grasped the understanding of Romance and Tragedy," Sikowitz shouted out, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

I gave a small huff and made my way over to my seat, plopping down. Robbie helped Cat up, and kept hold of her hand as they made their way to their seats. When were they going to go out? Granted, Robbie couldn't grow the balls to ask Cat out if he tried and Cat's so oblivious she probably doesn't even know Robbie likes her. She's my best friend, but she can be daft sometimes. Okay, scratch sometimes.

**Mike POV**

I watched as Jade delivered her lines, playing the part of a doctor delivering news to a pair of lovers that one of them was going to die. A large part of me was wishing that it were Jade and I playing the part of lovers, complete with a kiss. I watched as Robbie and Cat walked down from the stage, still holding hands before they moved to sit back down in their chairs. Was there something going on between them? News about relationships quite obviously didn't reach me, but everyone else was keeping their eyes trained on the pair's hands so perhaps there was a secret relationship or something. Cat and Robbie don't seem like the type to be able to keep secrets from everyone, but they could be great actors and I really don't know them all that well. Jade sat down in a chair next to Beck, and he rested his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him. She leant her head on his shoulder as they watched the teacher in anticipation, waiting for him to say something. Sikowitz stared back at his students and sipped his coconut quietly.

"I didn't really prepare anything else for this class, so talk amongst yourselves until the bell rings," he told us.

I turned to Andre and talked to him about music playing on the radio and stories about travelling with instruments. I looked over to Beck and Jade, and tried to swallow my jealousy as they sat in one chair and started kissing. I couldn't help but think that should have been me under Jade.

I tore my eyes back to Andre, and soon enough the bell rang. At lunch we all decided to go to Tori's house after school to just chill for a while. I thought it would be good to get to know the people in the group so I hastily agreed to hanging out until late. When the school day ended, we all met up and made our way to the Vega household. It wasn't too long until everyone started to get hungry, so I volunteered to whip up a snack.

"Wow, these are really good," Tori told me through a mouthful of mini lemon meringue pie.

"Impressive," Robbie said, though reluctant to try and feed his puppet.

"It's really nothing. The meringue can be whipped up easily and Tori had those pre-made pastry bases already in the freezer," I told them.

"Still, it's more than what we'd be able to do- to have it taste this good, anyway," Andre nudged me.

"Sometimes I would cook when Ma' couldn't do much. Sometimes became most of the time, so I guess I have a lot of experience," I replied, awfully aware of the tense atmosphere I had just created. It didn't last long, however, as the ever-bubbly Cat jumped up.

"We should make cupcakes!" She shouted, bounding around the house.

"NO!" was the only response the perky girl got and it was from the moody goth curled up on the couch.

"Who wants to play poker?" Tori asked, trying to ease the awkward air. Choruses of agreements washed through the room and soon enough we ended up sitting around the table, cards in hand.

The game continued in silence from most of the players, Cat blissfully unaware to the fact her giggling was a major give-away whenever she got a good hand. Tori would glance at everyone else before scratching her nose, and that was her tell. Andre got a little wonky whenever he tried to hide the fact he had a good pair or two, and Robbie had all but given up after Rex started shouting out all of his cards. Beck was harder to calculate, but eventually I figured out that he would drum his fingers on the back of his cards when he wasn't confident with the cards he had. I could not for the life of me figure out Jade's tells though. She had mastered the poker face at a young age and there were no eye twitches, suspicious subtle movements or even covert glances to give her away. A long while into the game it was only Beck, Jade and I left. When Andre decided nothing good was on TV, he startled the lot of us when he said particularly loudly, "I'm bored, and nobody's going to win any time soon. You're all at a stalemate! Let's play again!"

Tori, Robbie and Cat agreed, so we set up again. After leaning there wasn't enough candy to continue playing with, we all looked at Cat purposefully, but she only looked towards the ground and giggled.

"We could play strip poker," Rex suggested.

Jade, Robbie and Tori were reluctant to agree, but pushing from Andre who was urging 'it will be fun' was all Tori needed to decide she was in, and like the lackey Robbie was he too gave in. Upset at the idea of Beck possibly seeing Tori strip, or even the other way around, Jade joined in 'to make sure nobody tries anything'. I don't really see either way how she could do anything to prevent any hi-jinks, but I wasn't about to complain when the lady of my affections agrees (albeit reluctantly) to play strip poker.

By late into the game, Robbie had retired after being left only in his boxers, Cat had gone off to find some more candy while clad only in a bra and her skirt, while the rest of us continued playing. It had been a good thing I had brought a jacket and wore an undershirt, because the more layers the better. Robbie tried hard to deal with a _problem _after Cat had taken her shirt off and so he was watching TV now, trying to calm down. Andre was only in shorts and Beck was still wearing his undershirt with his pants. I still had my shirt and jeans on, though Tori was trying to give me a run for my money. Tori was in a tank top and shorts, having stripped herself of her shirt, shoes and socks earlier. Jade was resting with her legs tucked under her in Beck's lap only in her shirt, which barely covered her panties sitting down, and would create a problem for her if she tried to stand up. That would also create an even larger problem for me, if I tried to stand up.

Our game was interrupted just as it was getting good (and I mean by that Jade was losing a lot of her poker-playing edge) by Trina, who walked down the stairs. Unfortunately for her, the first thing she saw was Robbie, and she let out an ear piercing scream and everybody scuttled off to retrieve their clothes and burst out the front door. We shouted to each other that we would catch up at school tomorrow, and made our separate ways home.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So, here's a bit of Jori friendship. This is a Bade story as it's my OTP, but I hold a soft spot in my heart for Jori 3. The idea at the beginning of this story was that Tori would take up the antagonist part more, but I grew to dislike that so here's a friendship moment. This is what I was talking about when the events of Crazy Ponnie were relevant to the story, as I felt it was a way for Tori to connect with Jade. There is little to no Mike/Jade interaction, but I still felt like this was an important part of the story. I haven't been in the situation Tori is in, but I felt this is how she would react, and I hope there are no problems with it.**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

**Please Enjoy reading :)**

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**Tori POV**

I tried to get to bed, but Trina was coughing in her sleep. She tried to take some aroma-therapeutic coffee blend or something, and scalded her throat. She wouldn't take throat lozenges; she thought they work as laxatives for some reason. This didn't deter her from pestering me all night telling me to get her a bottle of water 'because she was sick'. I decided I needed to have a drink as I thought about this, so I tread downstairs and quietly brought out a glass. I tentatively filled it up with water from the sink, placed it down on the bench as I turned off but saw a silhouette and ducked down.

"Why did you do this?" I recognised my dad's voice, though it was slightly muffled through the front door.

"I'm sorry, but I've fallen in love with him." I raised my eyebrows questioningly as I heard my mother in response.

"What does our marriage mean to you- our children mean to you?"

"It means a lot, but Gary and I love each other."

"Love? What do you know about love? Our marriage is supposed to be based on love and look where we are now!"

I shook as I tried to comprehend what was going on. Both voices were increasing in volume steadily, and I was wondering why the whole neighbourhood hadn't woken up yet.

"Love is what you are supposed to have for your daughters, but you don't seem to have that do you? When do you ever do anything for them? When are you ever here? When do you ever care for them?"

"Don't you talk to me about loving my daughters! You're just as horrible a parent to them as I am."

"I am not on the same level of awful parenting as you!"

Tears trailed down my cheeks and I shut my eyes tightly, flinching every time the yelling got louder and louder.

"I was not the one having an affair with my own work partner!"

I held back a sob as one of my greatest fears came to light. Something really was going on between Gary and my mother- I had refused to believe it earlier, but having Dad call out on it like that, and now the silence and lack of denial, I knew it was true.

"Get out of here. We're getting a divorce."

I nearly crashed on the ground. Trina coughed in her sleep ignorantly above us as I heard the opening of the door and then the slamming of it again. The familiar revving of the family car engine sounded, and faded off into the distance. I tried to hold in any whimpers as stomping upon the stairs reverberated throughout the house. Thoughts of my glass of water completely left my mind as I tried not to curl up on the floor and rattle out sobs. I had always thought we were a happy family. Perhaps not the best one, but a happy one. Was I wrong this whole time?

**Jade POV**

I woke up early to the blaring ringing of my phone. I checked the time before answering, three-thirty in the morning. Who was calling me at this time of the night- morning? Whoever it was is probably going to be killed tomorrow, but it could be important. I answered the phone and spoke groggily, "Hello?"

"J-Jade?" It was the voice of Tori Vega stuttering through the phone that blasted in my ear.

"What? Why are you calling me at three-thirty in the morning?" I asked, too sleepy to allow venom to seep into my voice.

"It's- it's my parents. They g-got into a huge fight and I d-d-don't know where mom has gone. Jade, mom's been sleeping with G-Gary! Dad wants a divorce! I don't k-know what tow do but I figured since you-"

"Calm down Vega!" I hesitated for a second. "Stay at your house and I'll come pick you up to take over here. Write a note to tell your sister or something and get what you need." I don't know what possessed me to do this, but perhaps it was empathy for Tori's position that brought out this _caring _side to me. I found myself getting out of bed, sneaking down the hallway and getting into my car. After a short drive, I saw Tori in her pyjamas holding a small bag filled with random things standing outside of her home. She got in the car and in the faint light I could see red-rimmed eyes. It was a silent drive home, though when we arrived at my house, Tori began sniffling and failed to hold in a few dry sobs. I fixed her up a hot chocolate and set it on the coffee table after turning the lights on, and sat down next to the snivelling girl on the couch.

"Okay, so what happened?" I asked her. The brunette haired girl wailed about how she went downstairs to get a glass of water and how her parents had a loud screaming match over different subjects such as their parenting skills and their love for one another. I grimaced when the Latina sobbed about how awful it was to be the subject of the argument. That was a particular sensitive spot to me, so it must have been a lapse in my normal strong-willed personality that caused me to rub her shoulder and let her cry into my neck. We stayed like that until daylight, then I started to shift seeing as Tori was cutting off some of my blood circulation.

"Do you think you can go to school today?" I asked the emotionally unstable girl. She shook her head.

"I don't think I can go to school like this but I don't know if I can go home yet," Tori told me.

"What did you write on your note before we left?"

"Just that I went to your house early in the morning to meet for a project." I nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, I'll stay here with you today," I replied.

"No, you don't have to, I can leave," Tori started, trying to excuse herself.

"You called me at three-thirty in the morning, asking for help, I swear you are going to get it," I told the Latina determinedly. She watched me in wonder as I put on my 'sweet voice' and called the school, excusing my absence in a voice eerily similar to my mother's- or how she would sound if she were actually, you know, motherly. I made sure Tori was covered a little while afterwards, seeing as if I did both of us at the same time it would be suspicious. Both of us ended up watching movies starring Anne Hathaway the entire day and eating ice cream, wary to touch the subject of Tori's parents.

"Do we have to worry about Trina?" I asked, concerning whether anyone would be waiting to pick up Tori at school.

"No, she has a bad cough, she probably stayed home sick today," was my only reply from the other girl who was now invested in _The Devil Wears Prada._ I turned on my phone and noticed the many missed calls and messages from Beck and the others. Most of them were asking where I was, or if I was off trying to kill Tori. I scoffed, if I wanted Vega dead there would be no need for the word _try_. I sent a few replies saying I was just not feeling up to going to school today.

"What are you going to tell the others?" I asked Tori.

"I'll tell them Trina gave me sickness, even if it's not contagious. I don't really want to have to confront anyone at school about this just yet," she finally said with a sigh.

"C'mon, let's make something to eat," I said, getting up off the lounge. Tori obliged, and we found ourselves covered in flour and sugar not too long afterwards. Tori laughed as she tried to separate me from the cookie dough, giggling about how it should be Cat that was attacking the dough before we could cook it. By the time we were munching on (if I do say so myself) delicious chocolate chip cookies, it was about the time everyone would be leaving school for home. I noticed Tori's crestfallen demeanour.

"You can sleep over tonight if you want," I said, and found myself wondering why I was being so nice to this girl today. It definitely wasn't like me.

"No, I couldn't. I think I need to face this, at home and stuff," Tori said, looking at me forlornly. I nodded, knowing the feeling. "Thanks for everything today Jade. I probably would have been a complete mess without your comfort."

I scoffed good naturedly.

"What are you talking about? You were still a mess anyway. And my comfort? Didn't think I would ever hear that in a sentence being strung out of your mouth," I corrected.

Tori only smiled and waved me off as she decided to walk home. I watched her continue down the street with conviction in her eyes, and I finally closed the door. I walked inside, and after cleaning everything up I went on my laptop and checked for anything eventful that had happened today while I wasn't at school.

**ROBBIE: My soy strawberry milkshake doesn't taste like strawberry. MOOD: Disappointed.**

**REX: Nobody tell Robbie he has Milkshake all over his face. MOOD: Mischievous.**

**CAT: Beck looks like only half his normal self because he isn't connected to Jade. MOOD: Puzzled.**

**ANDRE: My noodles smell like salsa. Get your food straight people! MOOD: Hungry.**

**MIKE: So what's the hype about this Slap thing? MOOD: Confused.**

**TORI: Ready to face my fears. Wish me luck! MOOD: Brave.**

I looked down at Tori's latest update. The others were probably deducing she had to go into Trina's room or something, Tori's always vague with her statuses. I quirked my eyebrow at the fact that Brave isn't a mood, but typed up something for myself anyway.

**JADE: Spent the day watching movies. Wasn't too bad. MOOD: Indifferent.**

While everyone else probably decided I watched horror movies all day over Anne Hathaway, I smiled to myself. The little green skull on my finger's eyes glowed green. Compassionate? No way. This skull ring is getting ridiculous.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Here's a little chapter some of you might enjoy ;) I'm going away next week on a ski trip with no Internet, so I won't be able to update then. I'm probably going to have a lot of spare time, which means a lot of story writing, and I think I'll be inspired to do a Ski-trip themed one with the whole gang. I have another oneshot coming up as well, without any pairings but it's just a little fun one :)**

**To my American friends, I hope you had a good Independence Day yesterday. Also, I write about a Science class in here. I have no idea how American Science classes work, but with my experience from two different Australian schools, I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how it works over here with my writing. I used the term nurse's office, but I call it a sickbay normally :/ I also have no idea what a freshman, sophomore etc really is- I just refer to grades.**

**On another note, Penelope won't be a recurring character unless you want her to be, and I threw in a bit more about Jade's family.**

**Without further Adieu, Enjoy the chapter.**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

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**Mike POV**

The day wasn't particularly interesting yesterday as neither Jade nor Tori showed up at school. Beck seemed rather lonely without his other half to parade around and everyone else's usual spirit seemed to have dimmed without the other cheerful girl around. While Jade wasn't around my focus was back on my schoolwork, and I couldn't help but groan the next time a diagram of the Greenhouse Effect was passed onto my desk. The day had gone on very slowly, but hopefully both girls will be back today. I got ready for the day at school and made sure my motorbike was good to go before I put on my helmet and rode off.

The school was buzzing with activity this morning and when I rode in on my bike I entrapped the attention of most of the female student body. I put on a charming grin and a few girls even swooned. I rolled my eyes internally, and met up with everyone else. Tori still wasn't here, but Jade was, and that was all I really needed right now.

"You okay today?" I asked her as her boyfriend took off to go to the bathroom.

"That rhymed!" Shouted Cat from her corner of the table.

"Yeah, I was only feeling a little under the weather yesterday, I wanted to make sure it wasn't anything bad before I came to school," Jade explained. Small talk continued until the bell signalling the start of the day rang, and I made my way over to Sikowitz's classroom along with everyone else.

"Where's Tori?" The strange man asked as he drilled into a coconut.

"She's sick," was the first reply, which came from a certain dark-haired, dark-clothed girl sitting at the back of the room. Everyone turned back to look at her, and she only gave a sneer at them before elaborating.

"Trina made her sick or something. I make it my business to know when she's in bad health so I can pre-plan a celebration," she defended.

Sikowitz didn't look satisfied, but he continued drilling into his coconut anyway.

"Beck, Andre, Mike, up on stage! Improvise something to do with danger. GO!" He yelled, rattling an exercise off the top of his head. Beck started the improv by motioning to Andre. "This is too dangerous, I won't let you go out there and fight that bear!"

Andre returned with, "I need to do this, man! That bear killed my family!"

"No! You go out there, we all go out there, we do things as a team," I piped in.

Sikowitz seemed to think this wasn't interesting enough, so he gestured to Robbie to get on stage.

"Roar!" Robbie exclaimed, attempting to recreate a bear.

"Oh, here he is! Let me at him!" Andre started shouting. Beck tried to hold him back, so I scrambled around looking scared of Robbie, which was a sight in itself.

"We need a complication. Jade, come over here!" Sikowitz ordered, and motioned towards himself. I continued my act of being a scared hiker, or whatever it was that I was supposed to be, and overheard Sikowitz whispering instructions to Jade. She nodded, and climbed onto the stage and got down on her hands and knees behind Robbie. A crazed look appeared on her features as she yelled, "Help!" hysterically.

Beck finally let go of Andre, who launched himself at Robbie, and I made my way over to Jade. Beck and Andre stage fought Robbie, and acted taking him out with their fists. It wouldn't have been much of a feat taking out a bear if he looked like Robbie. I gathered Jade in my arms, and after Robbie rolled himself off the edge of the stage, she turned to me.

"Oh, thank you for saving me, strange man," she said in her 'mocking Tori' voice, and leaned forwards and attached her lips to mine, kissing me. Her lips moved softly against mine, and I found myself kissing her back. I tried not to shiver as she pulled away.

"Scene! You all need to work on making things more exciting!" Sikowitz yelled from his corner in the classroom, though I was still in a daze. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Beck and Jade bickering a little bit.

**Jade POV**

"We need a complication. Jade, come over here!" Sikowitz yelled, and gestured towards himself. I got up out of my uncomfortable seat, and walked over to the demented teacher.

"I want you to play the part of a damsel in distress, who is hidden behind Robbie, and to spice things up throw in a stage kiss," he whispered softly to me, and I tried not to think about how much of a voyeur Sikowitz must be. I nodded, and crawled over behind Robbie. I got into character of a scared woman, and started shouting for help. Mike made his way over to me, Andre proceeded to fake beat up Robbie, and so did Beck.

Well, this wasn't good.

I squirmed up next to Mike, still playing the part of the damsel in distress, trying not to think about the stage kiss Sikowitz wanted. I was snapped out of my treacherous thoughts as I watched Robbie roll off the stage.

"Oh, thank you for saving me, strange man," I said, getting back into character. It was now or never and so I leaned forwards and planted one on the nearest person - oh, look, it's Mike! I felt Mike tense up, but he soon relaxed into the kiss, and started kissing back. Damn, he was a good kisser.

I pulled away, just in time for Sikowitz to end the scene and lecture us about whatever we did wrong. "What was that?" Beck asked me as soon as we stepped down from the stage.

"A stage kiss, I'm sure you're familiar with that," I bit back, words laced with venom.

"Was it really necessary?" He questioned. I held back a sigh and turned around.

"Sikowitz told me to get up on stage and act the part of a damsel in distress, and then kiss somebody. I was hoping you'd be the one to 'save me' but you weren't, so I had to do what I had to do," I told him matter of fact-ly. Beck ran a hand through his hair, and tried to calm down, which was weird seeing as he is usually the epitome of calm.

"Let's just not talk about this." I tried not to roll my eyes. Leave it up to Boyfriend-of-the-Year Beck to leave our fights unresolved and problems unaddressed, then probably come back later saying that all of the faults in our relationship are my doing. Nobody dares to call him out on it though, I'm the one 'causing problems' even though Beck never wants to talk about them. So how is anything _his_ fault?

Trying not to get riled up, even though I've past that point, was a struggle right now. I looked to the back of the room, and noticed the new kid smiling like an idiot. What's up with that? All I could think of right now is how badly I need a coffee. It took until Sikowitz finished his lecture on capturing an audience's attention and keeping it for the bell to ring. When it did, I walked out of the room behind Beck. I was feeling a little guilty about what had happened earlier, and though it was slightly out of my control, (Sikowitz _had _told me to do it) I couldn't help but feel bad about kissing somebody else. Any chance for an apology Beck might have gotten, however, was blown out of the water after I saw him slightly chuckling at some short brunette girl who was laying the flirt on way too thick. I contemplated storming over and slapping the girl into the next century, but a wave of exhaustion washed over me. I don't know what triggered it but I felt tired and just wanted to lie down on my bed, rather than waste my energy yelling at some girl. Girls flirting with Beck wasn't going to change, and even though he isn't doing anything about it, I really was just over it and I wanted a break. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Andre giving me a shocked look as I groggily made my way to my next class, ignoring Beck and the other girl. When I sat down in my chair in science class, I still felt tired. I was sure I was getting enough sleep, even if my sleeping patterns are a little bit off sometimes, so I decided I was just really sick of the emotional distress that came with constant jealousy and it was finally taking its toll on my body.

I partnered up with a girl who I never really even talked to too much, but always sat next to in comfortable silence, and let her do most of the work. She was one of those girls who just sat in the corner detesting group projects, and seeing as I hate most people and she never talks, she was my best bet. I looked down at the worksheet, and saw that I needed to boil water in a beaker over a Bunsen burner, so I tried to set it up while the other girl- I think her name was Penelope, got the rest of the equipment. The teacher saw me drowsily filling up the beaker in the sink, and messily connecting the hose of the Bunsen to the gas outlet, and put his hand on my shoulder before I could try and light the match.

"Jade, is something the matter?" He asked. I shook my head, but this wasn't the best idea, so I gripped the bench and tried to steady myself and stop the world spinning.

"I think you better head off to the nurse's office. Penelope can take you there, and I'll write you a note." I absently nodded and grabbed my things. I was barely aware of being led out of the room, Penelope too cautious to try and guide me out because even though I was obviously in no shape to be anything of a threat, I still didn't like people touching me. I felt slightly bad for Penelope, who now had to finish the science experiment herself, but eased up when I realised the teacher would probably end up doing most of the work for her in my place. It's not as if I like the girl or anything, it's just that she hasn't done anything to annoy me yet, and I try not to take that for granted. We finally arrived at the nurse's office, and I flopped onto one of the uncomfortable beds on the side while quiet-girl gave the nurse my note. I smiled inwardly; thankful I didn't have to share the room with some freshman that had fallen off a tree or a kid with a coughing fit. The nurse wanted to call my parents, but I stressed the fact that both of them would be at work, even though mom was probably in bed with a hangover. Dad was at work, but I didn't want to tell the lady that my stepmother could probably pick me up. Laura was nice, but I felt like she was too young to be in a legitimate relationship with my father, and must be a gold-digger. I kept her locked out, she wasn't my mother and I wasn't going to pretend she was. She was more like a maid to me, cleaning up the house and picking up after me. She's the mother of my half-brother, Geoff, who is annoying as shit, but is a good kid at heart.

It took me a while to realise I was falling asleep, and with nobody to pick me up from school early while I was in no condition to drive home, I let myself rest on the uncomfortable bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hello everybody! It's good to be back home :) I'm well on my way to finishing the next chapter, so you hopefully won't have to wait too long… I said I had some other projects coming up, but I lost a lot of motivation and inspiration for those, and sometimes if I get a writers block I just have to scrap the whole thing. I couldn't really find a way to make those fic-in-the-makings exciting, so I'll just present you with this chapter. **

**A guest review asked me what actor would be playing Mike. I don't usually tie in an actor to a character when I read, but I guess Max Schneider sort of has the look I'm going for, if it helps. When I thought up the idea for this story, Mike was supposed to be some suave guy who could sweep girls (Jade) of their feet and ride off into the sunset like a badass. I failed pretty badly in that aspect, and he came out more like a cool nice-guy, but I don't have too many problems with how it's all working out,**

**This is the first hint of Jealous!Beck we get, and in the next chapter there's a funny little moment you should watch out for :P Seriously though, Enjoy the chapter.**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

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**Mike POV**

I made my way over to the front office of the school because I had to sort out some issues in my placement in maths class. I was put in a general mathematics class, but I didn't feel like the work was hard enough, and my classmates were terrible. It was arranged with the faculty for me to take a test to see if I could be slotted into a higher class. I gained enough marks on the test to be moved up but I still had to sort out the details. I'm not all too fussed on maths but if my acting career didn't work out, it would be good to have a high grade in maths to be able to get into other colleges. I waited patiently as the lady behind the desk printed me out a new timetable that would be able to direct me to my new maths class. The bell for the end of the day rung outside, but I fidgeted around, still waiting for the lady to confirm my place in the new class.

"I don't think you are in much condition to be driving home, Miss West," I heard the nurse call out, though slightly muffled from behind a door. I looked around, and peeked through the small crack in the door to the nurse's office.

"Then how am I supposed to get home?" Jade asked, though less harsh than I would have expected.

"If you can get a ride home from a friend, you may leave your car in the school car park for the night," was the nurse's response. I then took that as my cue to pop my head in.

"Ah, I couldn't help but overhear, but did Jade need a ride home?" I asked.

"What are you, stalking me?" Jade accused.

"Actually, I was just getting something sorted in the front office and overheard that you couldn't drive home. I like to think of myself as your friend, and if you need a ride…" I trailed off.

"I'm not your friend," Jade retorted, though her seemingly drowsy state diluted the venom that her voice normally would have held.

"Well, I'm just offering," I said, trying to defend myself. Jade grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room to the best of her ability. I grabbed my timetable from the office lady, and then hurried off to follow her. There were only a few cars left in the parking lot, seeing as the bell rang not too long ago. There were still a few lingering kids waiting for the bus, but Beck's car was absent.

"Doesn't look like your boyfriend is here to help you," I almost sang. Jade was standing in an almost empty car park, scowling.

"I can _so_ drive home," Jade huffed. Before she could go and try to unlock her car, I rushed over and grabbed her waist.

"There's no way you're driving half-asleep. There's also definitely no way I'll let you. Come on," I said, guiding her towards my motorbike. She tried to fight my grasp, but I effortlessly dragged her over to my bike.

"Look, you have a leather jacket and everything," I teased, tugging on her jacket.

"Well, you don't really have an extra helmet," she told me. I grinned and embraced her tightly.

"Just tuck your head into my back and hold on tight. You'll be fine," I said, grinning at the way she tried to struggle out of my hold. She really thought she was hurting me with those little punches, didn't she?

"You don't know where I live!" She argued.

"Then we'll drive to my house, and you can stay the night," I said, smirking as she mumbled an address into my shirt. Part of me wished she had agreed to the latter option, but at least her house was in an area I already sort of knew how to get to. I chuckled as she let out an uncharacteristic squeak as I picked her up and set her on the seat of my bike.

"You never heard that," she told me, darkly.

"Whatever you say," I said, feigning innocence. I held back another chuckle as she muttered something under her breath along the lines of 'you got that right'. I hopped up onto the seat and felt Jade wrap her arms around my waist. I tried not to get caught up in the moment and steadied my breathing as I felt her bury her face into my back. I started up the bike, and Jade tensed behind me. I put my helmet on and sped out of the car park. I took a few turns sharper than was necessary and sped up faster than I probably should have. It was worth it to feel the girl sitting on the bike behind me grip me tighter, attempt to dig herself further into me and hear her let out a few instinctive shouts whenever there was a particularly sharp corner. I pulled over on the side of a street and looked back to my passenger. Jade's hair was wild, and she was trying to catch her breath. I waited a moment for her to regain her wits, and then flinched as she cuffed the back of my head; granted, a helmet covered it, so it didn't hurt at all.

"Is this your stop?" I asked. Jade let out another bout of deep breaths before she nodded. She seemed a lot less incapacitated now. She got up off my bike and wandered a little bit up the street with her bag hoisted on her shoulder, before giving me a small wave, and then walked down a driveway. I tried not to melt in my spot. That would leave a bad stain on the bike seat. Shaking my head, I started to set off back to where my house now was. I was definitely not turning into a teenage girl. After a few wrong turns and asking strangers for directions, I found my way back home.

**Jade POV**

I tried to get my footing right after getting off Mike's motorbike. I adjusted the strap on my bag, and walked towards my house. I gave Mike a small wave to signal I was fine and he could leave, and then turned down my driveway. As I entered through the doorway, I noticed my reflection in one of the mirrors hanging on the wall. My hair was a mess, and I looked like a piece of crap. I hurried up the stairs and closed the door to my bedroom where I proceeded to fix my hair a bit. I still looked like a tired mess, but I looked better than before. I pretty much collapsed on my bed, and stared at the ceiling for a while. The obnoxious ringing of my cell phone interrupted my non-existent thoughts. Looking down at the caller ID, I saw Cat's name flash at me. I groaned, but grudgingly answered.

"What's up, Cat?" I asked, ready to receive the latest news on her brother's escapades.

"I was just thinking, really hard-"

"There's a first for everything, Cat," I interrupted. Cat giggled into the phone.

"No silly! If it's summer when we have winter at the bottom of the world, if a squirrel flew over to the southern hemisphere during winter, would it need to store nuts? I don't think it would, because it would be summer in America, and then it would have summer in Australia, or one of the bottom countries!"

I tried not to strain my eyes by rolling them too hard but I still sighed into the phone and answered the small girl.

"I think you're right Cat. Now leave me alone."

"Kay kay! Bye Jadey," Cat replied, leaving me no time to correct her on my name before she hung up. I learned a long time ago that if you agree with Cat then she would leave you alone. If you argue with her she will only bother you more. Sometimes I give her crayons and a colouring book or cereal instead, but I didn't have those to give her over the phone and I wasn't going to hang up on her. I'm so stupidly soft when it comes to that red haired girl. I suppose I should hat that, but I really don't, not that I would ever admit it to anyone.

I gradually got up off the bed to go wash my mouth in the sink, the bad taste of filler made itself present.

**Beck POV**

I parked in my parent's driveway and made my way over to the RV. I got word from Cat that Jade had to go to the nurse's office, so I figured she had left for home early. I sat down on my bed and started to read my textbook from English on 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. As soon as I became invested in the affairs of Lysander and company, I heard my phone begin to ring. I checked the caller ID before I picked up, and saw Andre's name presenting itself on the screen. I pressed the green 'answer' button and lifted the phone to my ear.

"What's up, Andre?" I asked him.

"Hey man. Just a second- No Grandma!" Came a muffled cry. "If you're so afraid of aliens reading your mind, put tin foil on your head! Sorry about that," he amended.

"No problem. Seriously though, why did you call?" I asked again.

"Well didn't you know? I thought you might want to talk about it or something seeing as it's already spread around so fast," Andre started.

"Dude, seriously I have no idea what you are even talking about," I replied.

"Just check TheSlap."

I proceeded to do as Andre told me. Logging on to the computer, I was immediately flogged with photos of Jade holding onto Mike's waist on a motorbike in the school car park. There were a few comments asking what had happened between us, and if we had split up as well as other similar things.

"What the hell is this?" I asked more to myself, but Andre still picked up on it.

"I don't know man, but I think you better watch out for this Mike guy. He's nice and all, but I'd watch my back if I were you," Andre advised me. I was slightly aware of the fact he had held back from saying 'I'd watch my girl if I were you'. I shook my head, trying to expel any incoming thoughts, as I tried to piece together what I already had.

One thing I knew for sure was that Mike could not be taken at face value, and could not be trusted.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hello people :D I just want to wish the wonderful Elizabeth Gillies a happy belated birthday. She's such an inspiration to me. Anyway, here we have it people- the next chapter. Can you guess what part I was talking about in the last author's note? I quite like this chapter, I think. Tori makes an appearance again, and we see a bit of the calm before the storm.**

**Cat's gags in this episode come from one of my friends, who sometimes I worry about because she likes to use her tongue for the touch screens on people's iPhones and sometimes eats food she finds on the ground. I still love her though (Also, Jade's call on Tori was one I made with one of my other friends and it was a funny moment so I put it in here). As for the PE lesson, I thought there would probably be a requirement for at least one PE lesson a week. I'm not sure about American laws, but for the purpose of this chapter that is how it goes.**

**I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :) **

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

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**Beck POV**

I woke up in the morning and threw the sheets to the side of my bed. I fixed myself some breakfast and decided I would check up on Jade and see if she was up to going to school today. After getting dressed, I got into my red pickup truck and drove off to Jade's house. I walked up to her front porch and knocked on the door after I arrived at her house. I waited a while as I heard shuffling from the other side of the door. It swung open, and Jade stood in the doorway holding a mug of coffee.

"Hey babe, are you coming to school today?" I asked her after leaning forwards and kissing her temple.

"Yeah, I just needed some more rest is all," she replied almost monotonously.

"I thought you were just skipping school the day before, I guess you really were feeling under the weather," I joked lightly. She gave me half an amused smile and followed me to my car.

When we arrived at school, I made my way to my locker, splitting from Jade. After I had finished getting my books, I looked over to where Jade had gone off, towards her own locker. Something must have happened because she was heckling some freshman boy. Perhaps he bumped into her. I was about to walk over to tell her to let the poor kid down, but then I took a bit of a double take. Jade was using her usual intimidation method, pulling somebody up by their collar and staring them down from above. What she didn't seem to understand, however, was that rather than being intimidated, the freshman was more flustered. Pulled up off the ground, his line of sight was directly parallel to Jade's generous cleavage, and he was being held flush against her. Jade obviously thought she was scaring him, but it was probably the close proximity between him and her breasts that was causing him to stutter and act jittery.

For some reason this caused a boiling feeling in the pit of my stomach. I strode forward, ready to separate the two by force, when Jade dropped the kid to the ground and he scampered off. Jade gave me a questioning look, probably noting my expression. I relaxed my face while flicking the hair out of my eyes simultaneously, and put my arms around her shoulders and led her to our general mathematics class. It soon struck me that I did not have any idea what had overcome me earlier. Usually I keep my cool and collected exterior, but I think I lost it a bit- even if nobody else actually noticed. Jade was pulling that 'intimidation' stunt all the time, why have I only noticed it now? I tried to keep myself in check as we arrived at the maths end of the academic block. Striding in together, we sat down at adjacent desks. After a while of practicing rationalising denominators, the bell for the end of class finally rang. I was quick to gather my things and hastily exited the room, everyone else not far behind me. Jade caught up with me and grasped my hand. I smiled as we made our way to the change rooms on the field outside to get ready for our weekly PE class.

Hollywood Arts doesn't have very many athletic students, but there is a school requirement for at least one Physical Education class every week in order for kids to get exercise. The school doesn't have any faculty members that actually qualify in the field of PE, so usually there are only a few selected teachers supervising kids playing random games of sports.

I went to the change room block, and went to the boy's side to put on shorts and a thin shirt. There was no gym class uniform for the school, as it isn't often that anyone actually plays sport, so we just have loose guidelines on what we wear during PE classes. I walked out slowly, not really in a rush to meet the rest of the class. Sports classes are only one gender to a class, so I was stuck with a bunch of mainly lanky artists with the exception of a few dancers and the odd extremely fit guy. I looked over to where Jade had met up with her class. She was wearing a black tank top and dark blue basketball shorts, and she toyed with a thread from her top as she scowled at the hyperactive Cat and peppy Tori. I was busy staring at her for a while, so I let out a short yell as Sikowitz blew into a whistle right next to me.

"You're teaching this class today?" I asked the loopy teacher.

"Why Yes!" He answered. I almost decided to skip class. No doubt Sikowitz would make us do one of his strange acting exercises and make it into a game. I was pleasantly surprised when he pulled out a soccer ball and told us all to play soccer and referee the game ourselves. I looked over the girls again and felt slightly uncomfortable (for two reasons) watching Lane tell everyone to do stretches. I forced myself to get my head in the game and moved over to join a team. I noticed Mike walk over to the other team, and a familiar flame sparked, then burned within me as I remembered yesterday's events. Sikowitz lazily blew the whistle from the sidelines and everybody snapped into action.

After a while into the game, I found myself facing Mike, trying to get the ball away from him. He took this as an opportunity to boot the ball, and it slammed straight into my face. I fell forwards to the ground, slightly dazed, and felt a warm liquid dripping down from my nose. I vaguely heard Sikowitz's whistle going off, and everybody surrounding me.

"Dude, did you hear that crack?" Somebody asked. I pulled myself to my feet and everyone gathered around me. I saw Jade pushing through the small crowd through the corner of my eye.

**Jade POV**

We had to play a stupid game of baseball, but because we had no actual baseball field we had to make one out of cones, bags and crap. I quickly grew bored of watching Cat swing the bat around, creating a hazard to anyone within a two-metre radius of her. Tori was checking her nails or whatever, seeing as she finally worked up the strength to go to school again, standing by a makeshift base. I sheepishly stared at Beck for most of the lesson, and damn was he hot, running around the field with those toned abs. I watched as he confronted Mike and stared intently, wanting to see how it would play out. The moment the ball left Mike's foot I sprinted over to the other side of the field, ignoring Lane's cries. I pushed my way through the mass of teenage boys and made my way to Beck. Blood was oozing down his face, and although it looked really cool, I was concerned for him.

"I think you should go to the nurse's office, Beck," Sikowitz called out. Well, no duh he should. I wrapped an arm around Beck's shoulder and started to walk back towards the school block.

"Jade, I think that-" Sikowitz was cut off by the short glare I gave him, so I continued taking Beck to the nurse's office. I walked with Beck over to the administrative block, but until we got there we had a small conversation.

"I hope your nose isn't screwed up forever," I told him nonchalantly. Beck only made a groaning noise in response, and I smirked.

"I don't want an ugly nose," he complained.

"I'll love you either way, so why should it matter?" I asked, faking suspicion. To my surprise, instead of vainly complaining about his 'perfect features' he leaned over to kiss me.

"Ew, you're still covered in blood," I told him, pushing him away. "It looks cool on you, but I don't want to look like I was drinking somebody's blood."

Beck only chuckled and leaned against me once more. I sighed as we almost reached the office. When we entered the nurse's office, the nurse immediately greeted me.

"Back so soon Jade?" She asked. I narrowed my eyes at her smart-ass comment and she hurriedly went to tend to Beck. Oh yes, I can be a lot more threatening when I'm not lying on a bed half asleep.

Beck had finally washed his face, so there was no more blood everywhere, but his face was still red and his nose was kind of swollen. The nurse gave my boyfriend an icepack to rest on his nose, and then we were dismissed to go back to class. I walked back with Beck over onto the field and by the time we had arrived all of the students were getting changed back into their normal outfits. I separated from Beck and made my way over to the girl's change room.

"Hey Jade, I fell over!" Cat told me with a strange amount of exuberance for somebody who had dirt covering their hands and knees. I tried to smile and nod at her, but it was half hearted so I just exhaled deeply and changed back into my normal clothes. I walked over to where Tori was standing and raised an eyebrow and motioned to Cat.

"Did you let her play in the dirt?" I asked condescendingly.

"No! She just tripped, I swear," Tori tried to defend herself vehemently. By the time I had finished attempting to interrogate the other girl, Cat was ready and changed, so we walked over to our normal lunch table together, thankful our only PE class for the whole week was over. When we reached the asphalt café, I noticed Andre and Robbie already sitting down, so I wondered where both Beck and Mike were. Though I totally wondered where Beck was, first.

"Cat, don't eat that! You found it on the ground!"

I turned around and saw Tori trying to coax the smaller girl into letting go of part of a cookie she discovered on the filthy floor. It was useless, I thought. For a while I had been concerned that even _after _kindergarten Cat didn't care if somebody dropped his or her food on the floor, she didn't want it to be wasted; just like it was a wasted effort in trying to stop Cat from eating something that broke the thirty second rule. The girl must have gained an immune system of steel. I rolled my eyes at the girl's antics and sat back down at the table. After a while Tori brought out her phone and went on about how her History teacher took it from her earlier today.

"I had to get on my knees and beg him to give it back, it was awful!" She wailed.

"I bet you'd get on your knees," I shot back; though I gave a teasing smile to show I wasn't actually trying to be mean this time. Andre just laughed for a while, and even Tori joined in as Rex noted 'good one'.

"Very funny Jade, but- hey! Cat!" Tori exclaimed. We looked over to where Cat was sitting, and saw her using her tongue to control the touch screen for Tori's Pearphone.

The whole time, I still couldn't help but wonder where the other two guys were.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Oh my gosh guys, I'm so sorry for not having updated sooner. For a while I've had a writer's block, and I've been focusing on drabbles and Oneshots to try and keep writing but I felt that I've been neglecting this story. I've only recently figured out how I'm going to go about finishing this story, so at least now I have some direction. Again, so very sorry for not updating in a while. **

**I've been doing a bit of work on a Bade A-Z piece, and there's a few of them already circulating so when those finish I might post mine, and I'm wondering whether I should post them all at once or one a day. :/ I still have to finish it yet, though.**

**Anyway, thankyou for continuing to read this and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

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**Mike POV**

I watched silently as Jade walked off with Beck to take him to the nurse's office. I really didn't mean to hurt him like that; I swear it was just the way the ball flew off my foot. I tried to explain this to Sikowitz but he still made me sit out for the rest of the game. I felt slightly guilty at first, but that was washed away when I watched the girl of my dreams (literally, which is both a blessing and a curse) walk off with her arms wrapped around Beck's waist with him leaning on her. I watched the game and cheered when required, but the time passed on slowly as I sat on the sidelines as a punishment for hurting the golden boy. I sighed and started overturning the dirt with my shoe, letting my thoughts wander to the girl who had me entranced from the first day. Maybe I could get her to continue to help me on the 'short movie' I was filming. I had already heard from other students that she was pretty much completely furious at the fact she no longer got any lead roles in plays, ever since Tori Vega arrived. I think she would be appreciative of an offer of the lead female role, and I could play the main male role. It was a good idea for me to write a love story, for sure.

My thoughts were disrupted as the strange teacher beside me nudged me slightly on the shoulder.

"Don't be so down in the dumps child," he advised me. I looked wearily at the old man, but he only smiled and pulled a coconut from somewhere out behind him. I refrained myself from rolling my eyes and went back to watching the game. It was just by the end of the lesson that Beck and Jade had returned, and they were still nice and close. I turned around and walked off with a few other guys back to the change room.

It took me a while to get changed back into my normal clothes as my thoughts were scattered and my mind was preoccupied, so as fate would have it, it was only Beck and I left in the change room.

"Uh, sorry about the whole kicking your face with a ball thing," I awkwardly apologised.

"It's no problem," he responded warily.

"Seriously, I didn't mean for your nose to erupt with blood," I tried to reassure. Beck chuckled for a moment at this, but immediately stopped himself for whatever reason. He turned to me with a serious face, (though really, when was his face ever something other than straight?) and looked me dead in the eye.

"What's going on between you and Jade?" He asked bluntly. I froze for a moment, my mind suddenly going into panic mode. How did he know? I didn't talk about this to anybody… maybe he thought about what happened last week, with me asking for help on girls and whatnot.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to play oblivious.

"Okay dude, don't try to play the idiot card. I know there's something going on, because you're getting way too close to my girlfriend."

Time to put some of my acting skills to work. I'm not the best actor, but when I put my mind to it I can trick anybody.

"What's your problem? I'm new here; I'm just trying to make friends. Maybe I'd just rather have Jade as a friend than an enemy," I answered convincingly, even though when I said I'd rather have jade as a friend I left out the part where I wanted her to be more than that. I brushed past Beck roughly and started to walk over to the asphalt café.

"I know something's up, kid." Beck yelled at me from over at the entrance to the change rooms.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night!" I shouted back.

**Beck POV**

I followed Mike with my eyes as he stalked off over the field. I didn't know whether to be angered or relieved. Part of me wanted to believe him when he told me that there wasn't anything up between him and Jade, particularly from his side, but the larger part of me rationalised that there was no way he could have been telling the truth. Having a large amount of experience in Sikowitz's improv class helped in being able to detect lies, and he had all of the tells. I would have been convinced if it weren't for the subtle way his hands went to scratch his nose and he avoided eye contact with me, looking behind me towards the door earlier. There has to be something up with him, and I was going to find out what. I think I might have to confront Jade about this, but I have to strategise. If she knew I was trying to corner her about this she would get upset. I decided I should get going to the normal lunch table soon or people will start wondering where I am. I walked over to the Asphalt Café and sat down at the table next to Jade, bringing out some food ignoring everyone's questioning looks.

"Where were you, babe?" Jade asked me.

"I had to go see a teacher for something," I lied smoothly. Jade wasn't entirely convinced.

"You weren't held up by any girls were you?" Jade asked. I knew she already thought I was lying, but she wanted to confirm that I wasn't with another girl.

"No, don't worry," I said sincerely. Jade seemed to be placated by this so she went back to eating.

"Look at what I found on the Skystore App!" Cat suddenly exclaimed. She was holding Tori's phone and waving it around her head.

"Cat! Did you download Skystore onto my phone?" Tori exclaimed.

"A seven stringed guitar!" Cat shouted.

Lunch continued with Mike sitting down later claiming he 'got lost' and between lecturing Cat about buying things from Skystore and trying to wrestle the phone out of her hands the bell soon rang.

Both Robbie and I headed off to our music class together. We both do intermediate music, and both of us work with acoustic guitars so the teacher sometimes lets us practice and chill outside. The both of us wandered outside of the classroom and out of the block onto a patch of grass, where some freshmen usually sit during lunch. The two of us began plucking at strings and tuning the guitars, and then started our usual small talk.

"So what's up with you lately?" Robbie asked me. When he wasn't in the presence of Rex or girls, or in some kind of weird situation, Robbie was significantly less awkward and we usually bonded over these guitar sessions.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked absentmindedly, playing a few chords in a random order.

"You're just acting a little different lately. I can't pinpoint how, but I guess it started when Mike moved here," Robbie mused. I raised an eyebrow.

"You think so?" I asked.

"Yeah," Robbie replied.

"What about you? You seem to be getting closer to Cat lately," I prodded. We'd all noticed the way Robbie followed Cat around constantly, complimenting her every few minutes. Robbie stopped his strumming and looked over to me shyly. "You like her don't you," I teased. Robbie didn't say anything, so I could argue he never denied it. His face turned a bright shade of red, and I nudged him on the shoulder.

"I won't tell anyone. Though it is kind of obvious to everyone, so saying anything wouldn't even matter," I said more to myself. We continued playing songs for a little while, when Robbie faced me again.

"How you've been acting doesn't have anything to do with Mike, does it?" Robbie asked tentatively.

"I don't know, I haven't noticed that I've been acting differently," I answered honestly. Robbie shrugged his shoulders and got up off the ground. We both wandered back into the classroom and put our guitars away, and then walked off as the bell rang and the teacher finished reminding the class of the next music assignment. As it was the end of the day, I caught up with Andre before I had to meet Jade to take her home.

"Hey man," Andre greeted me. We started talking about our last class to pass the time. I never knew why it always took Jade so long to get to the car park from the last class of the day.

"Robbie told me that I've been acting kind of different for a while. Do you think so?" I asked Andre.

"I guess so. You're not as emotionless as you usually are. Not to say you're not as calm as usual or anything, but when you're angry it's not like you're keeping it hidden, you know?" Andre told me. No, I didn't know.

"Robbie thinks it might have something to do with Mike. Do you think he likes Jade? I think he does," I said with a dour expression. Maybe that's what Andre was talking about. Andre just looked at me with a wonky expression on his face.

"I don't know! I got to go feed my Grandma!" He yelled, and ran off to his car. That was weird. Soon enough Jade walked out to the car park.

"What took you so long?" I asked her.

"Why were you waiting for me? I have to drive my car home from when I left it here yesterday," Jade explained, pointing to where her red car was sitting innocently in a parking spot. Oh Yeah.

"Oh, right, I forgot. Habit, you know?" I said while I ran a hand through my hair.

"Indeed," Jade replied with an amused smirk. She leaned up and kissed me, then stood back.

"Also, don't worry about dropping me off again tomorrow, I have to work with Mike for his short movie thing," Jade told me.

"Jade, can we talk later?" I asked her.

"I guess so. Why?" Jade asked with a troubled look on her face.

"You don't need to worry, it's not anything bad, but I just want to talk about something," I assured her. She nodded and wandered over to her car after swiftly giving me one last chaste kiss. I needed to talk to her about seeing Mike.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Oh, Goodness! It feels like I haven't updated in ages! I'm so sorry for everyone waiting on this next chapter, but I haven't been in my element with this story until lately, and then the holidays came *and I do most of my writing when I'm supposed to be doing school work cough* I have mostly planned out what I want to happen, which is a first, so maybe I'll be able to keep on track better.**

**Anyhow, this isn't my longest chapter, but I hope it satisfies you. Here we touch on Beck's jealousy for the first time- and how Jade reacts. Andre and Beck learn about Tori's situation and I threw a bit of Cabbie at the end to lengthen the chapter, so I hope that appeases some of you. Also, I can't wait for the new Victorious episodes to come out- Opposite Date and TSB&J. I honestly don't know what to think about them, and my feels will be out of whack, but until then, Enjoy the chapter please :)**

**Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider.**

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**Jade POV**

Later that evening I drove up to the Oliver household, parked my car on the street and approached the RV that was situated on the driveway. Deciding that Beck should have no reason to be caught off guard, because there definitely shouldn't be any other girl with him, I swung open the RV door. Taking in the appearance of the inside of the trailer, I scanned inside for my boyfriend. Lava lamp, hard hat sign, chicken statue, neon sign, bed, television, fish tank, pile of clothes, boyfriend. I stepped over the mountain of both mine and Beck's clothes (that often get swept off to the side after they're flung onto the ground during intimate activities) and sat down next to Beck. He was rifling through photo albums on on his phone

"Hey," Beck said, finally looking up.

"Hey," I replied, giving him a small questioning look. "You wanted to talk?" I asked uneasily. Beck hardly ever wanted to talk about anything, so when he said he wanted to talk; I had to suspect that something was up.

"Yeah," Beck answered, "it's… It's about Mike."

"Mike?" I inquired, curiosity peaked. "What about him? Are you seeing him behind my back?" I joked, trying to hide my confusion. My slight smile dropped when Beck's frame seemed to stiffen. Was there a problem between them? Why would Beck want to talk about Mike?

"It's just, I worry you're spending too much time with him." What?

"What are you talking about, Beck?" I asked him, slightly concerned.

"I- I really don't like him and I want you to stop seeing him so much," Beck blurted out, worried brown eyes connecting with mine. What's with him right now? He wants me to stop seeing- Oh.

"Are you jealous?" I asked in an almost amused tone.

"No!" Beck vehemently denied. The way he was getting so defensive told me that he probably wasn't truthful in his answer.

"That's funny, because I think you are," I sing-songed.

"I'm just upset because he's so obviously interested in you _romantically_," he whispered the end conspiringly. "I don't like it."

"Mike doesn't have a crush on me, if that's what you're saying," I assured him.

"How do you know? You're so oblivious!" Really, Beck?

"There's no way Mike likes me," I tried again. Didn't everyone always say it was a miracle I was able to get Beck, let alone anyone, in the first place?

"Just stop spending so much time with him, Jade," Beck persisted. This aggravated me for some reason, so I found myself snapping back at him.

"I haven't even been spending that much time with him at all- and you don't control me Beck. You cant' govern who I _do _or _do not _see, it didn't seem to matter when you were locking lips with Tori that I could have been jealous," I said, trying to keep control over the volume of my voice.

"Are you going to bring that up again?" Beck asked exasperatedly.

"Well I don't see how this is any different, and you still continue to hang out with Vega," I argued, fighting to keep my temper in check.

"Oh, and you treat her so nicely, don't you?" Beck said, raising his voice slightly, patronizingly.

"I never said you had to pretend to be friends with Mike," I replied, my voice bordering on a yell.

"Fine!"  
"Fine!" I huffed, and walked out of the Silver Streak. I hated it when Beck told me what to do. I found it quite hypocritical that he could tell me not to see Mike but he wouldn't respect my wishes of not seeing Tori. If that's how he wants to be, then fine.

**Beck POV**

I watched as Jade stormed out of the RV. I really should have expected this. Jade can be really hart to rationalize with a lot of the time, and I guess I was asking something pretty big of her, considering she thought she was making a new friend (who obviously wanted to be more than that). I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. It would be best if I let Jade cool down for a while until I tried talking to her again. Until that time, I decided to break in an unopened video game. As I set up the TV, I got a call on my pearphone. Hoping it was Jade, who might have miraculously calmed down within the last fifteen minutes, I picked up straight away.

"Hey dude," Andre chirped from the phone speakers.

"Oh, hey," I responded, a little disappointed.

"Why do you sound so down, man?" Andre asked.

"I just had a bit of a fight with Jade. I was taking out my grief on _Murder's Creek _until you called. I haven't had a chance to play it yet."

"_Murder's Creek_? That game came out ages ago. Oh, and sorry about Jade."

"It wasn't even that bad, she's just a _bit_ pissed off at me right now (I hope). Anyway, why did you call?" I was worrying about what he had to say to be honest. He had to be the bearer of bad news the last time he called.

"It's Tori."

"Ah, of course"

"Her parents are getting divorced. You know that, right?"

"No, not really. What happened?"

"Oh. She just told me about it, I figured she'd told you beforehand. It happened because of some guy named Gary, apparently. That's why she's been all super emotional lately, and I was just making sure you could get Jade to act a little more sensitive around her. Nobody but you can control her."

Jade's comment from earlier, _'You don't control me, Beck,' _rang in my head and I found myself absently agreeing to Andre's terms as we said goodbye and I hung up. Tori's parents were getting divorced? I guess it explained her absences and less than cheery attitude lately. Andre always seemed to have to be the messenger. At least this time it wasn't about something Jade had been seen doing with some other guy. Still, I felt pretty bad for Tori, and I would make a point of it once Jade and I were back on good terms to tell her to be a little nicer. For some reason I don't see that going down all too well however. I'm sure Jade would drag our last conversation back up and tell me how much I was in love with Tori and not her, _how I can't control her_, and how hypocritical I was being. I should get a brand new pair of scissors for her, in preparation of how pissed off she's going to get, and maybe another pair to goad her into forgiving me when I inevitably apologise for my 'rash actions' later on.

**Jade POV**

Okay, so maybe I flew off the handle a little bit with Beck back there- but still, could he be any more of a jerk? I sighed as I drove my car back home, still thankful that he hadn't decided he wanted to break up with me when he told me he wanted to 'talk'. I pulled up into the driveway and hopped out of my car. Getting down from my raging high, I stormed up into my room and slammed the door shut. I got changed into a black tank top and tartan blue cotton shorts, then flopped onto my bed after removing the makeup from my face. As I was drifting to sleep, I was jerked awake by the loud blaring of my pearphone going off.

"What?" I screamed into the phone, upset that I was drawn out of my near sleep. If Beck was calling to apologise now, then good luck to him because he just royally pissed me off.

"Did I disturb your beauty sleep?" Mike teased from the other line.

"Why did you call?" I asked harshly, hiding my surprise of his voice over the phone.

"I wrote down a script for my short film, and I want to know if you can help me read over the lines tomorrow to see if it's any good," he proposed.

A smirk drew itself across my face. Whatever, Beck, I can hang out with Mike all I want to.

"Sure. We'll go to your house tomorrow?" I suggested.

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Mike drawled. I hung up, not bothering to say goodbye. As I shut off the lamp, ready to go to sleep at last, my eyelids flew open as the frustrating ringing of my phone resounded on my bedside table. Holding back a scream I answered the phone.

"What is it?" I grit out, glaring murderously at the wall because the person on the other line couldn't see me.

"Jadey! I have big news to tell you about!" Cat yelled from over the phone. I did not have time for this; her annoying voice was going to drive me insane.

"Nobody cares about your big nudes Cat!" I groaned, trying to control my exasperation.

"Not big nudes Jadey!"

"Don't call me Jadey."

"Big news!"

"Oh. Well that's different."

"Yeah. Anyway, Robbie asked me out on a date," Cat giggled.

"What about it?" I asked, slightly happy for my friend but still irritated over my night's sleep being interrupted again.

"He asked me to go bowling with him, and not like friendly bowling, but like, husband and wife bowling!" I started to cough. Husband and wife bowling? She must mean, like, a couple.

"So the boy finally grew a backbone and asked you out?"

"Yes!" Cat squealed. What time was it? I looked over at the bright numbers on my digital clock on my desk in the corner of the room: 1:00am.

"Why are you calling me to tell me this at one in the morning?" I grumbled.

"That's the time when the pixies come out Jade! I wanted to stay up and see them, but then I remembered that I had to call you!" Cat explained. I groaned.

"Goodnight Cat, and don't call again."

"Can I tell you more tomorrow?" Cat inquired in a squeaky voice.

"Sure, just let me go to sleep," I mumbled before hanging up and falling asleep, resembling a log the entire night.


End file.
